[Column by Son Sung-jin] Jang Dong-hyeok's Roaring Laughter

People Power Party (PPP) leader Jang Dong-hyeok looked exactly like that. He was like a king laughing heartily on the eve of national ruin. Tomorrow, the seal of sovereignty is to be handed over, yet the king is breaking into loud laughter. The people, in tears, would surely wonder whether the king was in his right mind. Or they would see it as an act of despair. The crisis of conservative collapse is now counting down to the final moment. This is not a crisis; it is a downfall. Conservative supporters are stunned as the very heart of conservatism is about to be pierced. Seeing him smile from ear to ear is maddening. It is hard to swallow, and impossible to understand.
The collapse of the largest opposition party is, in itself, a dereliction of duty. More than that, it is an act of damaging the nation’s strength by undermining the health of politics. Half of the responsibility for the runaway behavior of the huge ruling party lies with the PPP. It bears responsibility for the complete loss of political checks and balances. Jang is trapped in a dreamlike past. A dream should point toward the future, but chasing what is already gone is nothing more than fantasy.
One cannot deny that the prosperity of the present is a conservative achievement. It was conservatives who defended the country from the threat of communization and created the Miracle on the Han River from the ruins of war. But the political practice of developmental dictatorship may have been a useful tool for compressed growth, yet it forced sacrifice. That sacrifice fell on workers, and over decades of democratization it came back as a powerful boomerang. The current reversal, in which labor unions have come to shape the country’s politics, is a kind of karmic consequence.
The country has become wealthy, but polarization is among the highest in the world. It looks polished on the outside, but it is festering inside. The middle class has collapsed, and the gap between rich and poor keeps widening. The side effects of rapid growth have been pushed below the surface and are now bursting out. Progressive factions and labor unions have exploited that gap to expand their influence. The space left for conservatives is shrinking. Two-thirds of the responsibility for this lies with conservatives.
Today’s conservatives, and the PPP, cannot read the changes in the world. They are numb to their own mistakes and keep talking only about the past. It is a kind of blindness, or perhaps a form of conviction. So what kind of reform can they possibly discuss? If they reject innovation and departure from the old order, how can they win public support? Some supporters and vested-interest groups are no different, still steeped in illusions about the past.
People of the older generation know the hardship of working while eating bread soaked with tears. But sons do not fully understand their fathers’ sweat, and grandsons have never seen it. The older generation grows angry at a world that no longer knows gratitude. At the same time, it tries to keep telling and holding on to the achievements of defending and building the nation. That eventually surfaces as hardline conservatism and authoritarianism.
The bigger problem is that they seem unwilling to break out of that framework. Younger generations read this as an obsession with vested interests. Time has passed, and society has changed. People in their 20s may have become more conservative, but not because they support defending vested interests. They can turn away at any time. Young people simply judge from the standpoint of the present and their own circumstances.
By contrast, established progressives are broadening their reach and steadily cementing their base. They think that if something serves their interests, being wrong is acceptable. For the sake of gain, they abandon fairness and justice. The power of the majority can even beautify injustice. Of course, that is not a desirable trend. Labor unions have long engaged in unfair practices such as hereditary succession. Politicized labor unions are neither conservative nor progressive. They are merely interest groups pretending to be progressive.
The conservative opposition must find its course within that reality. Unless it changes the impression that it serves as a guardian of vested interests, a reversal will be difficult. Trying to win competition with a rigid security mindset and red-baiting is an anachronism. This is now a society with more poor people than rich, and more weak people than strong. A party that runs only for the former cannot win elections.
Conservatives must now embrace both sides, not just one. They need a broader vision and the ability to care for others. Conservative parties in other countries, including Britain’s Conservative Party, have gone through similar trials. They recovered by opening their hearts to welfare for the poor, support for multiculturalism, and environmental protection. If Korea’s conservative opposition wants to rise again, it must turn toward those at the bottom.
Fairness and justice are unchanging standards of judgment. Young men have become more conservative because they are angry at unfair politics. Fairness and justice will eventually prevail. In that sense, the opposition has plenty of room to expose the ruling party’s weaknesses. If it pursues the right policies with the right mindset, it can trigger an ideological shift.
The ruling party’s current runaway behavior deserves criticism, but its roots lie in conservatism. Why do so many people support prosecution reform? If the opposition first raises the banner of reform while reflecting on the past, the public will finally pay attention. If it cannot do that, it will be ignored forever. Jang, smiling like an innocent child, should think this over again.
tonio66@fnnews.com Editorial Director Reporter