GNP Held Back By Park and Her Misconceptions

The Grand National Party's (GNP) retreat in Jecheon, North Chungcheong Province, was already going to be the object of much interest in that the party itself had been calling the situation it finds itself in a crisis. A party think tank just issued a report that concludes that the country has a "seriously negative image" of the GNP and that subsequently its prospects for the next presidential election are "not that bright," something that requires "reform in the form of centrist pragmatism." The argument it held with itself for two days and one night was, however, disappointing.

About the bill on abolishing the National Security Law (NSL) and other contentious legislation, chairwoman Park Geun Hye expressed her opposition to voting on them within the current extraordinary session of the National Assembly, saying the four major reform bills are "four major divisive bills that divide the country without even being urgent." She repeated her earlier statements about the National Intelligence Service's (NIS) inquiry into cases in its institutional history and the bill calling for an inquiry into unanswered questions in recent Korean history. Claiming that "history must not be the exclusive possession of the government," she said that the work of assessing history should be done by the National Academy of Sciences."

The think tank's report states that even the GNP's supporters see it as the most aristocratic and old establishment-oriented of Korea's parties, and it calls for the party to appeal to conservatives from a middle-road position after boldly declaring it will pursue non-ideological pragmatism, sparing only its belief in the legitimacy of the state and the essence of liberal democracy. Park appears to have closed her ears to that assessment and prescription. The party's various factional alliances demanded the party take a profoundly different approach, but she cut short the discussion.

A big reason is that she is unable to see reality for what it is and is a prisoner to her preoccupations and fixed ideas. It is not rational thinking to say abolishing the NSL is not urgent when the NSL is an "evil law," and to talk as if the country is going to collapse if it isn't in place. There are people who still suffer the results of human rights abuses, so looking into suspicious incidents in recent history is something that the National Assembly should roll up its sleeves and get to work on. Calling that political strategizing and saying the effort should be entrusted to historians is driving yet another nail in victims' hearts.

Park says she has apologized to those who suffered during the era of President Park Chung Hee on numerous occasions, but a true apology is achieved by clarifying the truth and restoring people's honor, and not by words alone. The GNP will be unable to move forward as long as it is held back by Park and her misconceptions.

The Hankyoreh, 5 February 2005.

[Translations by Seoul Selection (PMS)]