Pres. Park’s first remarks after the elections show no signs of change

Pres. Park’s first remarks after the elections show no signs of change. April. 19, 2016 07:34. by 박제균논설위원 phark@donga.com.

This newspaper requested President Park Geun-hye’s change of her arrogant attitude they day after the 20th general elections, in our article titled “The crushing defeat of the ruling party is our people’s order for change.” Other major national media wrote in a similar tone. The President’s first official remarks after the elections, which came out yesterday, however, brought nothing but disappointment. No self-reflection or change in perception is presented, even before the crisis where the ruling party has lost the majority to the opposition for the first time since the establishment of the constitution.

She mentioned that the results of the elections gave her an opportunity to reconsider public opinions, pledging that she will “humbly accept the results of the April 13 general elections and focus on improving livelihood of the people.” But at the same time, she emphasized that the new 20th National Assembly should work closely with the government and perform their duty to enhance the subsistence of Korean people. Her “humble acceptance” of the defeat was tarnished by once again putting the lawmakers’ “working closely with the government” before anything else. Even some of her supporters admit that the President said no apology for her mistakes, including her dogmatic leadership, failure to revive the economy, the chaotic ruling party nomination process, top-down administration, and so on.

When his ruling party lost the elections back in 2000, then President Kim Dae-jung proposed a summit between the two parties after expressing congratulations to the ruling party leader. On the other hand, Park’s lack of efforts to communicate with the opposition has always been a problem. Now that the opposition took majority in the cabinet, better communication with them has become a priority. US President Obama has been avoiding lame duck successfully through frequent conversation with the opposition leadership.

A Munhwa Ilbo survey released Monday has reckoned the approval ratings of Park at 32.5 percent, the lowest since she took office. The ratings of the ruling Saenuri Party also stayed at 27.2 percent, ranked at the second for the first time during the term. Koreans are tired of the Blue House and the Saenuri pushing the blames on the opposition, while they have failed to boost the economy for the last three years. Still, Park quoted the international credit-rating agencies concerning the negative effects the delay of structural reforms could bring, which actually sounded as attributing the delay to the voters who supported the opposition. The newspaper hopes that the president truly accept the results as she did in 2007 in party nomination against Lee Myung-bak, and go back to the lower place.