(EDITORIAL from The Korea Times on Oct. 22)

Ruling party leader hit for inappropriate actions
Power hard to earn and maintain, rests on leadership and accountability

Power is many things. It works best when used in a spirit of service to the public. But when personalities enter into the mix, it requires humility and accountability — a kind of discipline that some ruling party figures seem to have forgotten. About 500 days into President Lee Jae Myung's government, several senior officials, including Rep. Kim Min-seok, chief of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), have taken steps or uttered words oddly out of tune for politicians — especially for a ruling bloc that took power in part because of the ethical failings of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached.

One figure who has stood out for his problematic actions is former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, now chief of the DPK. Kim raised eyebrows by stepping on stage in the middle of a musical performance at a festival in Sunchang, North Jeolla Province, Oct. 15. Then three days later, he again came under public scrutiny when he came to pay his respects to a fireman who lost his life in a recent fire in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, but parked his car in the hospital's emergency parking area. There was also a news report that Kim visited Gangseo Fire Station in Seoul on Sept. 30 to support the firefighters, but arrived at 5 a.m. when they were still resting.

Gyeonggi Province Gov. Choo Mi-ae, also a DPK member, met with the firefighters' union Tuesday to apologize again for insensitive comments she made during an Oct. 13 provincial audit. In expanding on her views about the burdens and costs of various government programs, Choo had identified firefighting and the cost of staffing as one of several financial challenges. She went as far as to describe it as "a straw that drains the (local government's) annual budget." When she visited the site of the Bucheon fire, which resulted in the death of one firefighter, some of his coworkers turned their backs on her. After repeatedly being asked to offer an apology, she made the mistake of initially giving only a conditional apology, causing further outrage. DPK Rep. Boo Seung-chan, who also used the straw analogy to describe problems of financing firefighting services, also apologized for his comment on social media, Tuesday.

DPK chief Kim and floor leader Han Byung-do also bowed their heads in apology. The ruling party should reestablish its core values governing conduct. It's hard to determine what drove their actions aside from political ambition. As senior figures and lawmakers for the ruling party, their actions fall far short of their liberal ethical standards and show the dire need to demonstrate better leadership.

Their actions are also detrimental to support for the party. In a recent poll announced Tuesday, conducted by Yeoronjosa Gongjeong (Opinion Research Justice) on 1,002 adults, support for the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) was higher than that for the DPK. In the survey, support for the DPK stood at 33.3 percent, while support for PPP came in at 47.3 percent. It's an astounding gap, even taking into consideration that the pollster is conservative-leaning. A Realmeter survey also had the DPK support rating trailing the PPP at 36. 2 percent to 40.9 percent.

The DPK should take this signal seriously. The Lee Jae Myung administration is facing a different kind of political landscape, and the electorate is running low on tolerance. The administration has seen division from within after less than two years in power. Past governments have used their second year to implement their agendas, but that practice seems to be disappearing. The electorate is growing disillusioned as livelihood pledges by the Lee administration lose steam. The initial push to revive the Korean stock market and rein in housing prices are failing. These issues of livelihood — and the disillusionment caused by the failure of the party to meaningfully address them — will surely tax the patience of citizens if allowed to continue. The ruling bloc would do well to not test the public's patience.
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