Maintaining democracy is like "tinkling the bell on a cat." 

There is a fable by Aesop called "Tinkling the Bell on a Cat."

Mice, constantly preyed upon by a cat, gather to discuss countermeasures. One mouse says,

"Let's put a bell on the cat's neck. Then, we can hear the bell and escape in advance." 

Everyone applauds, calling it a brilliant idea. Then, an old mouse quietly asks,

"Who will put the bell on?"

Maintaining democracy is precisely like that "act of putting the bell on." Creating mechanisms to monitor and control power to prevent the dangers of absolute power has always been a difficult task throughout history. 

However, humanity, through countless sacrifices and bloodshed, has eventually put that bell on the cat's neck. That is the history of democracy.

Whether it's a civic revolution, a military coup, or power established through elections, the nature of power is not significantly different. Like human greed, power always has an instinct to further increase its strength. Although the degree may vary, power always rushes towards concentration rather than dispersion. 

To prevent this danger, our democracy has created wise mechanisms like a "bell." That is the separation of powers. If "democracy," where the people are sovereign, is an abstract concept, then "separation of powers" is the concrete action to support it. 

Democracy cannot exist without checks and balances. The essence of democracy is a structure where the legislature, executive, and judiciary monitor and check each other, preventing the unchecked abuse of power. 

However, that bell is now falling off.

The legislative power, with an overwhelming majority in seats, is colluding with the president to push for the so-called "Three Judicial Reform Bills," thereby paralyzing the judiciary. This is an act of severing one pillar of democracy. The check-and-balance bell on the cat's neck, which was attached through countless sacrifices, is now falling off. 

A cat without a bell makes no sound no matter how it moves. The mice, unable to detect the cat's approach, are eventually devoured without resistance.

Power without the mechanism of checks is like a runaway train running without warning signals. That power has no reason to control itself and no one to fear. Power transforms from the protector of democracy into the predator of democracy. 

Power never limits itself.

Without even needing to mention Hitler's Nazis or Maduro's Venezuela, in reality, the concentration of power throughout history has always manifested through the distortion and weakening of judicial independence.

Democracy is not something that lasts forever once established. It is an order that must be constantly defended, and a process through which citizens must realize its value and meaning for themselves.

The question we face now is simple. 

At this moment when the bell on the cat's neck is falling off, who will be the one to reattach it? 

Democracy stands on institutions, but it is ultimately the citizens' responsibility to protect those institutions.

There is never a tomorrow for a mouse that is not awake. 

◆ Min Byung-gon, Writer 

Current) Political Documentary Writer 

Current) Spokesperson for the People Power Party's South Chungcheong Provincial Chapter