A seat for Yoon is a luxury that the ruling party cannot afford now

Right after Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun was denied a party recommendation from the ruling Saenuri Party for the 20th general elections, six lawmakers followed suit when Yoon defected from the party. On last Friday, the six policymakers have been all reinstated in the ruling party after passing the partisan screening by the Incheon city chapter. Rumor has it that Yoon himself will soon rejoin the party as he filed a reinstatement request on April 15 along with the six lawmakers. Mr. Yoon is the culprit behind the party recommendation scandal, who eroded trust between his party and the presidential office and aggravated public antipathy to Korean politics. The rumor clearly indicates that the ruling Saenuri Party has yet to learn a lesson after their crushing defeat in general elections.

One of the closest aides to President Park Geun-hye, Yoon is heavily responsible for the exodus of sound-minded conservative voters, who were further disillusioned with the ruling party after former party leader Kim Moo sung’s "state seal scandal." The foul language that Yoon used during his phone call, which pointed to the possibility that he was trying to fiddle with the party recommendation process, reeked with the stench of anachronistic political machinations. Indeed, behind his impudence loomed the shadow of the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae. Yet, there have been no explanations or apologies on Yoon's part. His opportunistic approach to rejoin the party is unconscionable, an unseemly move to take advantage of the party’s desperateness to recover their first-part status before the opening of the 20th National Assembly.

In addition to Yoon, there are six others who won the general elections as an independent, including Yoo Seung-min, Ju Ho young, Ahn Sang-soo, Kang Gil-boo, Jang Je-won, and Lee Cheol-gyu. Yoon is the only person professing himself to be a pro-Park Geun hye figure. If they are reinstated, the parliamentary seat will expand from 122 to 129, surpassing that of the current first party of the Minjoo Party of Korea (123). However, opposition is also heavy on having Yoon returned to the party as the lawmaker is accountable for fueling factional strife by abusing his connection with the president. This explains why Rep. Shim Jae-cheol proposed the so-called 5+2 solution, thereby having the five lawmakers reinstated first before Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun and Yoo Seung-min. Of course, Yoo’s case is different as he was forced out of the party after rubbing the president up the wrong way.

The reinstatement process is completed only after the supreme committee of the central party confirm‎s the decision. Currently, the ruling Saenuri Party has no supreme committee in place, and the establishment of an emergency policy committee is being delayed as well. It is no time to enjoy such luxury of preparing a parliamentary seat for a harm-doer responsible for the massive estrangement of long-time supporters. No matter how trusted he may be by the president, Yoon is still responsible for so many parliamentary seats gone lost, and this needs to be remembered. There is no cause or gains in accepting Yoon’s request. If the party lets him in without reflecting the public opinion from the election results, there is no future for the ruling Saenuri Party. Yoon needs to examine himself further; his days as a politician are being numbered. The party needs to remember they are not immune to the wrath of public opinion, which will be reflected in the next year’s presidential election.

한기흥기자 eligius@donga.com