[Labor Column] The Lesson of the Local Elections Is 'Livelihood,' Not 'Political Warfare'

The 9th nationwide local elections have come to an end. The essence of local elections, which is to choose people who will work for their communities, has long been overshadowed by intervention from the central political arena. This time in particular, it was an election marked by an excess of politics, with even former and current presidents jumping in. The opposition avoided a complete sweep with victories by Oh Se-hoon in Seoul and Choo Kyung-ho in Daegu, but the overall result was a ruling-party victory and an opposition defeat. Now that the election is over, what South Korea urgently needs is to calm the political overheat that erupted during the campaign. Both parties must quickly return to the normal track of stable governance, one that puts the public's lives first. The problem is that the turbulence from the election process is expected to continue, or even intensify.
The shortage of ballots in parts of Seoul on election day left an unprecedented stain on the process. As the prepared ballots ran out, many voters had to turn back or wait until late at night. Poor election management, which failed to properly protect even the people's most sacred right, became a catalyst for political conflict in itself. It is hard to predict how long the fallout from election lawsuits and other disputes will last. There are many issues that need to be examined, including the number of voters who could not cast ballots, the violation of the principle that voters' intent should be reflected at the same point in time, and the distortion of voter sentiment after exit poll results were reported. This is not something that can be dismissed simply by pointing to Oh Se-hoon's victory or citing election law.
The hottest issue in post-election politics is undoubtedly the confrontation over Lee Jae-myung's withdrawal of indictments. The clash between the rule of law and political bargaining will pull even the judicial sphere into the battlefield of partisan logic. The controversy over appointing a special counsel for the withdrawal of indictments is likely to become a black hole that swallows up future state affairs. That would inevitably translate into a loss of momentum for governance. The special counsel bill on withdrawing indictments became a turning point in the election season, and it is worth remembering that successful governance is what secures the future.
Shifts in the power structure within the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) also point to stormy days ahead. Along with questions of accountability for the election results and the direction of political leadership, cracks are already being heard inside the party over whether Jung Chung-rae should be replaced as leader. A reshaping of the ruling bloc's power structure goes beyond a simple leadership change. Because this is a struggle for control that also looks ahead to the next general election and presidential race, both the pro-Lee and anti-Lee camps, as well as the pro-Jung and anti-Jung camps, will have no choice but to fight with everything they have, even staking their political futures on it. It is a worrying prospect, as it could drag the entire ruling party into extreme internal conflict.
The People Power Party is also facing the calm before the storm. Han Dong-hoon's emergence will likely become a trigger for a broader realignment in opposition politics. After being expelled from the People Power Party, he became the symbol of a dramatic comeback by winning the by-election for the National Assembly seat in the Busan Buk-gu-gap constituency as an independent. The political impact of Han Dong-hoon is making a direct clash between the pro-Yoon and anti-Yoon factions over control of the party's power structure unavoidable. The internal conflict that will erupt in the aftermath of the election defeat is likely to push the People Power Party to a crossroads between reform and division.
Although the election is over, South Korean politics could once again fall into extreme confrontation. If each party becomes obsessed with immediate control of the party and political infighting before healing the wounds and conflicts left by the election, politics will become completely isolated from people's lives. The reason we worry about today's political overheating is that the livelihood crisis is more serious than ever. With high prices, high interest rates, and a weak won, the pain in ordinary households is deepening. In the industrial sector, where companies must find survival strategies amid a global supply chain reshuffle, there is no room to wait for the political class's leisurely partisan battles.
The excess of politics shown by rival camps during the election period may have been useful for rallying supporters, but it does nothing to solve the country's many pressing challenges or revive the economy. The political class on both sides must now step away from the roulette game of election wins and losses and regain its sense of reason. The ruling bloc should not become arrogant after the election results, use legislative power to govern unilaterally, or become absorbed in internal power struggles. The opposition, too, must not shift responsibility onto others and descend into internal division. In the end, the only answer we need is stable governance. It is time for the executive branch, the legislature, and the newly elected local governments to work together at full strength toward the shared goals of stabilizing livelihoods and restoring the economy. The era of political excess, in which the public worries about politics rather than politics worrying about the public's lives, must now come to an end.
As the results of the election that had heated up the entire country became clear, fortunes rose and fell, and South Korean politics reached yet another turning point. The real public sentiment revealed through the June 3 local elections is not about who won the political contest. The political class must understand that what people care about is who can lead the country more stably and make their lives more comfortable.
dinoh7869@fnnews.com Reporter