The way to stop national suicide is to change the political landscape. / Image by pixabay.

Guest Columnist, Korea Military Academy Class of '84The Republic of Korea today is like a primitive tribe dominated by the evil spirits of lies and falsehoods. They are concealing falsified statistics on trade negotiations and healthcare benefits for Chinese nationals, which will be exposed imminently. The security history, which has been twisted to show the opposite of truth, and the 'insurrection' game, where the essence has been altered, demonstrate a cruelty that prioritizes political self-interest over national interest. The nation is accustomed to division rather than development, and we are unable to find solutions while observing anti-national acts that incite national collapse.

When politics becomes a battle solely for the politicians themselves, the judiciary hesitates to deliver true judgments out of fear of repercussions, security leaders defer to the eyes of power, and the media turns away from the truth and gets trapped in partisan camps, the nation is already in a state of partial death. When consumed by political strife, partisan ideology becomes faith, and compromise becomes betrayal. A nation loses its soul when its leadership becomes corrupt. Power is consumed with self-preservation, and the public grows angry and cynical before closing their hearts.

1. Nations collapse due to internal corruption and treason

   The characteristics of collapsed nations like Venezuela and Cambodia include leaders who prioritize emotion over truth, sow division in the name of justice, and lead their nations to ruin while speaking of people's livelihoods and peace. The blade that destroys the heart of a nation always comes from within. Its beginning is subtle and unseen, and even when exposed, it appears distant and ordinary, related to personal gain.

When we witness election fraud that incites public outrage and security policies that go against the grain, raising issues labels us as conspiracy theorists or historical cockroaches. Intellectuals ignorant of security claim that Korea cannot collapse to this extent, and leaders deny the national crisis.

Only after self-harm and national suicide are carried out by self-serving leaders does the public finally feel anxiety and fear. Due to the political sphere's neglect of public welfare, consumed by partisan logic, young people fall for job offers, losing their lives in Cambodia, and even if employed, worry about unemployment before turning 50. A judiciary that has lost fairness and security policies that lack consistency make the public worry about the nation and harbor doubts about the government's duplicitous identity.

Traitors and betrayers engage in the illicit trade of national information, inciting anti-Japanese and anti-American sentiments, and disrupting security policies under the guise of self-esteem and peace. Recent spy ring cases have proven that spies are not just on the front lines but hidden in everyday life. They manipulated public opinion by disguising themselves as civic groups and laundered funds using local government subsidies. In the online space, they fueled discord among the public and escalated political chaos.

2. The real problem lies with internal traitors colluding with the enemy

   A spy network more terrifying than bullets: There was a spy who penetrated the security network of intelligence agencies and leaked military secrets overseas. Another organization and regime figures, disguised as civic groups, manipulated anti-American and anti-government protests and were found to have manipulated public opinion by receiving directives from North Korea. In one region, a public official used national funds to support the activities of a spy ring, and in the online space, a 'psychological warfare organization' divided the public and fostered distrust.

The Korean Peninsula, a constitutional territory, is constantly like a candle in the wind: China to the west encroaches on maritime sovereignty by building artificial structures in the West Sea, and Russia to the north has signed a military agreement with North Korea, providing missile technology to Pyongyang. North Korea, having declared two hostile states, fires missiles at South Korea daily, seeking recognition for its nuclear armament, and the southern sea has become a tense zone mixed with US and Chinese vessels.

Despite the current regime facing a crisis where the Republic of Korea's continuity cannot be maintained without the ROK-US alliance, they are advocating for the transfer of wartime operational control and the restoration of the Sept. 19 military agreement without the ability to control enemy forces. Without a fundamental change in the ruling power's view of the nation and ideology, it seems unlikely that the national crisis can be overcome. This is why we must awaken and achieve a change in government through strong solidarity.

3. The nation lives when the people are awake

  In World War II, despite the bombings, Churchill boosted the British people's will to resist by saying, "We shall never surrender," and saved Britain. Israel was founded in a desert surrounded by enemy nations, surviving with the spirit that all citizens are soldiers. Ukraine, too, is fighting against Russia, which is tens of times stronger, proving the truth that 'the strength of a nation comes from the will of its people.'

History shows that it is always the awakened people at the end who save and change the nation. The fate of a nation is determined not by guns but by public consciousness. Silence in the face of dictatorship invites tyrants, while awake citizens make history. Today's silence hastens destruction, and today's awakening saves a nation in crisis.

National revival also begins from within. When the people awaken, the nation does not die on its own. Now, we must prioritize responsibility over rights, and duty and sacrifice over reward. What we need now is not fragmented anger but the awakening of a vigilant public consciousness. The patriotic awakening of one person can defeat ten enemies, while a generation's indifference allows the nation to perish.

The confession by the Secretary-General of the National Election Commission that 'the NEC servers were connected to the outside during the early voting period' has now revealed who the conspirators are and who the historical cockroaches are. The battle between right and wrong is over. Now, we must ask questions that can save the nation. The peaceful way to resolve the civil war-level societal conflict is to resume the trials related to the top leaders, and the opposition party must make the issue of fraudulent elections its primary focus and push for the establishment of a special tribunal.

The forces that have driven the emergency martial law into a rebellion must be defined as the 'true rebellion,' and the regime must be changed through a revolution of the sovereign citizens to punish anti-national forces and rebuild the dismantled security framework and trade negotiations. This is a part of the unwavering will of the people and the military.

Park Pil-gyu, Guest Columnist