What if Trump doesn’t concede?

After drinking beer, with his shirt soaked in sweat, Al Gore danced wildly. Unlike his clean-cut image, his tie was loose and the sleeves were rolled up. His wife "Tipper" who was a drummer of a girl band “Wild cats” was beating the drum hard, while he was dancing. Gore clapped and chanted to songs of Jon Bon Jovi and other rock stars and high-fived friends. This was the party Gore had with his campaign staff members after he made a presidential concession speech in the evening of December 13, 2000. The election in 2000 was one of the most controversial in American History.

For 36 confused days after the presidential election, held on November 7, between Democratic nominee Al Gore and Republican nominee George W. Bush, it had remained undecided who would become the new president. After counting of 25 electoral votes for Bush in Florida, where the result of the election was largely hinged on, Democrats requested recount. After the vote recounting in several election districts, Americans saw some reduction in a margin, leading to predictions that the result will be upended after state-wide recount. However, the Federal Court split five to four that recount cannot be completed. Gore accepted and conceded the presidency to his rival for a greater purpose of unifying the nation.

Presidential concession speech has become a tradition in the U.S. politics after Stephen Douglas officially admitted his defeat against Abraham Lincoln in 1860. In the third presidential debate on Wednesday, Donald Trump said, “I will tell you at the time,” when he was asked about concession of the presidency. The possibility of Trump’s refusal of the outcome of the election has prompted a huge controversy. Together with his account that the election was rigged, Trump is at the center of criticism that he insulted democracy.

When asked about involvement of the National Intelligence Service during the South Korean presidential election in 2012, Moon Jae-in, the then presidential nominee of the Minjoo Party, answered that it was unfair and that it helped President Park Geun-hye to win the election whether she knew about it or not. His comment created a controversy over him that he was not conceding the presidency. Political tension is high between the ruling and opposition parties, both preparing for the presidential election next year. If this is a type of drama that we will see through next year, I am worried that we could see a Korean version of Trump who will not accept the election result.

한기흥기자 eligius@donga.com