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"If the GNP wants to win, it needs to talk frankly with the people about what it would change once in power, and do so based on a vision and philosophy for the country’s development," he said. He was challenged immediately. "The country will be ruined if we don’t achieve a change of government," said the Rev. Seo Gyeong-seok. "If the GNP is truly the conservative party, it should bring in Goh Kun and eradicate the leftists!" The room erupted in applause. A similar meeting was held back in June, immediately after the party won an overwhelming victory in the regional elections held May 31. It was organized by Chun Yo-ok, and she called it the "Development Strategy Seminar for Winning the 2007 Presidential Election." The official theme was "10 Years Lost: Will the GNP’s Dream Come True?" All the GNP is interested in these days is how it can be sure it is going to win. Which is just fine. Political parties exist to win elections. But one still worries, because the party never explains "why" it should be in power and what it would do with this power. What exactly is the GNP’s philosophy on foreign policy and national security? What are its policies on the economy and welfare? People in the GNP have a hard time answering these simple questions. They call Roh Moo-hyun’s government "leftist incompetence," but they haven’t offered much in the way of alternative. Is the GNP competent? I made myself a list of GNP Assembly members with experience as ministers, vice ministers, and heads of local government. Park Hee-tae and Kim Ki-choon were both justice ministers, Kim Deog-ryong was first minister of state for public affairs. Kim Yong-kap was minister of government administration. Lee Jai-chang was minister of the environment. Kim Moo-sung was deputy minister of internal affairs. Lee Kyeong-jae was deputy minister of public information. Chung Hyung-keun was a department head in the Agency for National Security Planning. Lee Sang-bae was mayor of Seoul. Lee Hae-bong was mayor of Daegu. Huh Tae-yeol was governor of North Chungbuk. Most, then, are out of office; they are - sorry to put it this way - politicians whose heyday has come and gone. Who, then, is competent in the GNP? I’m really not sure. The GNP demands that discussions with the United States over taking back wartime command authority of the Korean military should be postponed until the next administration. The GNP found itself in something of an awkward position when it was learned that the U.S. is in favor of the idea, but the party’s position on the issue had already been decided. What about the potential free trade agreement with the U.S.? The GNP isn’t saying anything, other than, essentially, "Figure it out, president Roh!" I asked around, wanting to know why the party isn’t saying more. "The FTA isn’t going to happen anyway, so there’s no reason to get slapped around because of it," was one response from the right. Cowardly, indeed, but on the other hand, the GNP is not alone. The same situation is true with most Koreans who consider themselves "conservative" or "rightist." All they have is hate for the people they call "leftists," and say so very little about what they really want. "They’re all third-rate half-baked leftists. And more than being leftists, they’re people who are just uptight. They haven’t cultivated their hearts and minds. They lack good manners, civility, and culture. They have twisted minds that lack self-control and that, in turn, has combined with a sense of ideological superiority, which makes it inevitable that they talk and behave like they do." So wrote the Chosun Ilbo’s Ryu Keun-il about the Roh Moo-hyun administration on September 5. One of the better traits of conservatism has always been magnanimity. But right now Korea’s conservatives talk as if Korea will be a strong and advanced nation just as soon as they get rid of the leftists in the next election. They are frauds for saying so. Who are they calling leftist? Uri Party chairman Kim Geun-tae, who is calling for an abolishment of limits on cross-investment among conglomerate subsidiaries? President Roh, who wants to score an FTA with the U.S. as one of his major political accomplishments? They’re the leftists? The world is a complex place, and rightists are being too simplistic about it. There is an expression that goes "heungmyo, baengmyo," meaning "black cat, white cat," the idea being that the color of the cat does not matter as long as it is effective in eradicating mice. The right needs to compete with the left on competence, not ideology. And I’d really like to say to the right, "If you win the presidential election, please do some studying. It is a sad state of affairs for the country when ignorant people get into office."
