A crowd gathered at the memorial service for Lee Han-yeol in Sinchon, Seoul, July 1987. [Photo = Ministry of the Interior and Safety]

The Democratic Party of Korea, refusing to return the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee chairmanship to the main opposition People Power Party and intending to monopolize all standing committee chairmanships, has drawn criticism from Song Eon-seok, the People Power Party's floor leader. He stated, "This is an act of spitting on the achievements of the 1987 democratization, which was built with the blood and sweat of the people." He further argued, "Preserving the spirit of political reform achieved by our National Assembly during President Roh Moo-hyun's tenure would be a true commemoration."

Reminding that the custom of entrusting the Legislation and Judiciary Committee to the second-largest party was established during the Roh Moo-hyun administration, and the tradition of allocating standing committee chairmanships based on the number of seats held by each party was formed in the 13th National Assembly in 1988, he added, "The ruling party's intention to monopolize 100% of the standing committee chairmanships signifies a historical regression, going beyond 'pre-Roh Moo-hyun' to 'pre-1987 democratization'." 

The False Frame of the '1987 System'

Song Eon-seok has repeatedly apologized for President Yoon Suk-yeol's declaration of martial law on December 3rd, aiming to reveal suspicions of election fraud by pro-North Korean leftist anti-state forces and to defend the liberal democratic system, and has led the charge in declaring a break with Yoon Suk-yeol. 

Yet, he now invokes the spirit of Roh Moo-hyun, a perpetrator of bribery, and speaks of the spirit of 1987 democratization. Song Eon-seok's understanding of history aligns with the majority of People Power Party lawmakers, who refer to the Democratic Party and pro-North Korean leftist forces as progressives. 

Pro-North Korean leftists are not progressives. They are merely regressive, stubbornly leftist individuals whose brains, brainwashed in ignorance during their student days decades ago, have failed to update with the rapidly changing times and retain outdated versions.

The right-wing that perceives pro-North Korean leftists as progressives are individuals who have not escaped a sense of indebtedness to the "democracy activism" movement and lack historical awareness; they are ignorant pseudo-rightists. This is why the People Power Party is treated as a second string to the Democratic Party, like the Nth group.

What is the reason behind the Democratic Party's unhesitatingly anti-democratic and unconstitutional actions and legislation, such as intimidating investigative agencies, courts, and the media, and through propaganda and incitement, impeaching Presidents Park Geun-hye and Yoon Suk-yeol, dismantling the separation of powers with three judicial bills, and seizing public broadcasting through amendments to the Broadcasting Act?

There are suspicions that the Democratic Party under Kim Dae-jung, Roh Moo-hyun, Moon Jae-in, and Lee Jae-myung, under the guise of liberal democracy, are those who believe in the Juche ideology of the North Korean communist group and are remnants of Park Heon-young's South Korean Workers' Party. There is also suspicion that they hide their true identity and deceive voters with the party name "Democratic Party," which does not align with their beliefs. 

For pro-North Korean leftists, democracy is merely a tool to destroy democracy. This is akin to the North Korean communist regime naming its state the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Their democracy is not liberal democracy but North Korean-style people's democracy. The North Korean communist group and pro-North Korean Juche followers read "communism" when they write "democracy." Why do you think the North Korean communist group and pro-North Korean leftists commonly deify the May 18th Gwangju Uprising as a "Gwangju Democratization Movement"? 

The Only Way to Protect the Republic of Korea: 'Study'

The word 'democracy' has long been a subject of ridicule among young people. There are even neologisms that mock the word 'democracy,' such as "to democratize" and "to be democratized."

As seen in the example of the Democratic Party regime's failed attempt to capitalize on the BTS concert in Gwanghwamun with a clumsy plan and excessive control, resulting in embarrassment, young people see through the intentions of the pro-North Korean leftists. The outdated and clumsy brainwashing tactics of the stubbornly pro-North Korean leftists are ineffective on the youth. 

Such tactics only work on the lawmakers of the People Power Party. Young people are the hope of the Republic of Korea, who will rebuild the nation that the pro-North Korean leftists have ruined. Young people are not swayed by pro-North Korean leftists, to the extent that pro-North Korean leftist forces express concern about the "extreme right-wing shift in classrooms" and "extreme right-wing shift among youth" on platforms like Instagram and YouTube. 

They spontaneously form organizations like "Liberty University" to advocate for the legitimacy of President Yoon's martial law and urge an investigation into election fraud suspicions and electoral system reform. These young people are the hope of the Republic of Korea, successors to Syngman Rhee and Park Chung-hee. The middle-aged generation, brainwashed by pro-North Korean leftists during their school days and still lost in delusion, are a cancerous growth on the Republic of Korea. 

To the youth generation of the Republic of Korea, the Democratic Party appears as an entrenched power group, and they see through the reality of the Democratic Party through various channels like social media. This is why the Democratic Party's approval ratings are not high among young people in various polls. 

There are news reports that pro-Roh Moo-hyun memes are trending on Instagram and that 90% of middle school students dislike Lee Jae-myung and the Democratic Party. Regarding the Constitutional Court, which ruled on President Yoon's impeachment, and the court that sentenced him to life imprisonment, young people believe the judges are biased and brainwashed by the Democratic Party and pro-North Korean leftists. 

They are not exposed to and are not brainwashed by the media created by the older generation, who are brainwashed by pro-North Korean leftists. This is an irony of history that has occurred in just one generation. The ignorant older generation, who still haven't come to their senses after being brainwashed by pro-North Korean leftists during their school days, and the lawmakers of the People Power Party, who fail to grasp this historical trend, are the problem. 

The only way for the People Power Party to defeat the pro-North Korean leftists and protect the liberal democratic Republic of Korea is to study. Song Eon-seok and the majority of People Power Party lawmakers lack sufficient study, thus lacking historical perspective and philosophy, and consequently, conviction. 

The ignorant lawmakers of the People Power Party, who know nothing beyond the meager knowledge they possess for their livelihoods, must, from now on, at the very least, properly study modern and contemporary history to escape the historical narrative framed by the pro-North Korean leftists. 

It is Time to Return to the Spirit of Syngman Rhee and Park Chung-hee

We must understand how Syngman Rhee and Park Chung-hee established the liberal democratic Republic of Korea and achieved industrialization and modernization. We must break free from the frame created by the pro-North Korean leftists and the North Korean regime, which portray Syngman Rhee, Park Chung-hee, and Chun Doo-hwan as dictators, and respectively frame the May 18th incident and 1987 as the "May 18th Democratization Movement" and the "1987 Democratization Movement."

The reason President Yoon's impeachment bill passes in the National Assembly is that ignorant individuals who perceive Syngman Rhee and Park Chung-hee as dictators and Chun Doo-hwan as the leader of a rebellion occupy seats in the People Power Party. 

Even as the Democratic Party defines President Yoon's declaration of martial law as rebellion and attempts to label the president as the leader of a rebellion, the lawmakers of the People Power Party are helpless against this onslaught. 

Have the lawmakers of the People Power Party forgotten the past actions of Kim Dae-jung? Kim Dae-jung was sentenced to death for charges related to the May 18th rebellion, but he survived due to a pardon from President Chun Doo-hwan.

After President Kim Young-sam took office, both Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung initiated investigations into the illegal political funds of former Presidents Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo to cover up their own illegal political fund issues amounting to hundreds of billions of won. 

During this process, the "May 18th Special Act" was enacted, through which December 12th was defined as a "rebellion" by Chun Doo-hwan and the new military faction, and May 18th was elevated to a "democratization movement."

If history is not properly understood and learned from, past mistakes are bound to be repeated. Pro-North Korean leftists will resort to any illegality to dismantle the liberal democratic system of the Republic of Korea. 

For pro-North Korean leftists, laws and democracy are merely inconvenient obstacles on their path to communizing the Republic of Korea. Pro-North Korean leftists brainwash the public through propaganda and incitement, regardless of any unconstitutional actions, illegalities, or anti-democratic behavior. 

For them, democracy and law are useful tools to realize their communist ideology, and they merely use democracy to destroy it. 

The People Power Party remains silent on the suspicions of election fraud, which is a primary reason for President Yoon's declaration of martial law, along with the paralysis of state affairs due to the Democratic Party's indiscriminate impeachment motions against high-ranking officials. They are trapped in the Democratic Party's conspiracy theory frame of election fraud.

If suspicions of election fraud are raised, the People Power Party, rather than the Democratic Party, will first label them as extreme right-wing. They are unable to move when accused of being extreme right-wing by the Democratic Party. The lawmakers of the People Power Party are ignorant individuals who cannot even distinguish between leftist and rightist values. 

Such ignorant and opportunistic individuals are selected in turns to share the positions of National Assembly members, and they have no interest in whether the Republic of Korea collapses or is communized. The People Power Party remains silent out of fear of the "extreme right-wing" label, despite clear evidence of election fraud, including suspicions of manipulation of electronic vote counting in early voting and numerous fraudulent ballots, which are being solidly blocked by the Supreme Court, the National Election Commission, and the pro-North Korean leftist cartel. 

In the current local election nominations, the People Power Party is busy weeding out supporters of President Yoon Suk-yeol. They are once again focused on recruiting docile individuals by pandering to the "centrist" narrative. The reason for the People Power Party's endless pursuit of centrism stems from ignorance. Because they know nothing, they lack philosophy and conviction and tend to be vague, preferring a "what's good is good" approach. 

The People Power Party is a gathering of individuals who lack the ability to defend the liberal democratic system and promote national development due to their ignorance, but who are driven by a desire for positions and are united by self-interest. 

The current achievements of the Republic of Korea are thanks to the efforts of Syngman Rhee, Park Chung-hee, and Chun Doo-hwan in establishing the liberal democratic system and achieving industrialization and modernization in opposition to communism. If the People Power Party had compromised like Syngman Rhee with a "centrist" approach, the current Republic of Korea, developed on the basis of liberal democracy and a market economy, would not exist. 

Following the Russian Revolution of 1917, the specter of Marxist-Leninist communism swept the world and landed on the Korean peninsula. Even after liberation in 1945, through the Japanese colonial period, most people were enthusiastic about communism. Syngman Rhee struggled to establish a liberal democratic system by defeating communism in the Republic of Korea. 

Without the far-sighted Syngman Rhee, the Republic of Korea would have already been communized, and we would now be living under Kim Jong-un's rule. This is because preferring communism was the prevailing sentiment of the people at that time. 

In 1923, while the world was swept by a communist fervor, Syngman Rhee wrote a thesis in the United States titled "The Problem of the Communist Party," expounding on the dangers of communist ideology. There was no scholar or politician in the United States or Europe, let alone the Republic of Korea, who could match Syngman Rhee's foresight at that time. This is why MacArthur, a proud elite and a war hero of World War II, respected Syngman Rhee. 

Syngman Rhee's achievements are immense, if only for preventing the communization of the Republic of Korea. Despite U.S. support, communist regimes were established in China and Vietnam, and laments were heard in the United States asking why there wasn't a figure like Syngman Rhee in China and Vietnam. 

Based on the liberal democratic Republic of Korea established by Syngman Rhee, Park Chung-hee, with nationwide support, achieved the Miracle on the Han River during his 19 years in power, transforming the Republic of Korea from the world's poorest country into a modernized and industrialized nation. 

North Korean Intervention Behind Large-Scale Riots in the Republic of Korea

After liberation, North Korea, with superior national strength based on the industrial facilities left by Japan, began to fall behind South Korea after President Park Chung-hee took office. Becoming impatient as the prospect of armed revolution in South Korea faded, they dispatched the assassination squad led by Kim Shin-jo to assassize Park Chung-hee and launched the Rangoon bombing to assassinate Chun Doo-hwan. They also attempted to assassinate Park Chung-hee using Japanese-Korean Mun Se-kwang, but the attempt failed, and instead, his wife, Yuk Young-soo, was killed. 

Kim Hyun-hee's bombing of Korean Air Lines Flight 858 claimed the lives of hundreds of Koreans. Following the Jeju Uprising, the Yeosu Rebellion, the Sabel Coal Mine Riot, the Daegu Riot, and the May 18th Uprising, North Korea, in the final years of the Chun Doo-hwan regime in 1987, allied with pro-North Korean leftist forces in South Korea and, through large-scale propaganda, incitement, and brainwashing, launched a communist movement under the guise of a democratization movement for the unified conquest of South Korea, demanding the overthrow of the military dictatorship.

It is known that North Korea has intervened in all large-scale protests and riots in the Republic of Korea since liberation in 1945. This is the reason why violence and force accompany all large-scale demonstrations. The stated justification is always democratization. The reason for using all illegal actions, violence, and force while shouting "democratization" is that the pro-North Korean leftist forces, remnants of the North Korean communist group and the South Korean Workers' Party, believe in totalitarian communism, not democracy. 

While the scale was minor compared to the May 18th Gwangju Uprising in 1980, the large-scale demonstrations in 1987, led by North Korea and pro-North Korean organizations, were also violent protests involving Molotov cocktails, wooden clubs, and steel pipes. Although the May 18th Uprising in 1980 failed, the successful propaganda and incitement by pro-North Korean leftists seven years later marked the beginning of the communization of the Republic of Korea. 

Subsequently, Kim Young-sam, who came to power, enacted the unconstitutional "May 18th Special Act," which prohibits the prosecution of crimes whose statute of limitations has expired. He then imprisoned Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo on charges of rebellion and bribery, while covering up his and Kim Dae-jung's own bribery cases amounting to hundreds of billions of won. 

Kim Dae-jung, who was sentenced to death for charges related to the May 18th rebellion, was acquitted through a retrial. May 18th became a "democratization movement," and to prevent any criticism of the May 18th incident, the Democratic Party enacted an unconstitutional law criminalizing the distortion of the May 18th incident, and the Constitutional Court, suspected of being pro-North Korean leftist, ruled it constitutional. 

Pro-North Korean leftists call Park Chung-hee a dictator. Park Chung-hee's philosophy was that human rights improve with national prosperity. In a poor, starving country, under Japanese colonial rule, it is impossible to discuss human rights and democratization. 

Deng Xiaoping benchmarked Park Chung-hee to lay the foundation for China's economic superpower status. China's hyper-growth after Deng Xiaoping was based on low wages. With only labor as a competitive advantage without capital and technology, if labor movements were allowed and high wages were paid, Chinese products would lose competitiveness. Chinese products were bought for their cheapness, even if their quality was poor. This continued for 40 years as China became the "world's factory."

Now, China has accumulated capital and technology and threatens the United States. The U.S. also caught up to Britain, which was ahead in the Industrial Revolution. Any country industrializing early goes through a process of accumulating capital and technology based on low wages and government protection. 

The People Power Party Must Fight for Transparent Elections

In 1972, Park Chung-hee put to a national referendum the amendment of the constitution, primarily featuring a presidential indirect election system where the National Conference for Unification, elected by national popular vote, would elect a president with a six-year term with no term limits. The Yushin Constitution passed with a voter turnout of 91.9% and 91.5% approval. 

As social unrest was caused by continuous protests from the opposition and university students demanding the abolition of the Yushin Constitution, Park Chung-hee put the Yushin Constitution to a national referendum in 1975, declaring that if it was rejected, it would be considered a no-confidence vote against him and he would immediately step down as president. 

The referendum saw a voter turnout of 79.8%, and despite low approval rates of 58% in Seoul and 62% in Busan, Park Chung-hee and the Yushin Constitution received a nationwide approval of 73.1%, thus regaining confidence. 

The United States also had a four-term president, Roosevelt. Four-term, five-term, or even more is permissible if needed. The U.S. presidential election is also an indirect election through electors. Even if one wins the popular vote, they may not be elected if they lack enough electors. While it may seem unreasonable to anyone, this is the electoral system chosen by Americans. 

Whether it is a direct or indirect election, or whether it's three terms, four terms, or lifetime, if the people choose it through constitutional amendment procedures, then that is what happens. If it is election fraud or election manipulation, then that is how it should be handled. The pro-North Korean leftists call Park Chung-hee a dictator because the Yushin Constitution, chosen by the votes of our great ancestors who achieved industrialization and modernization during the Park Chung-hee era, is different from the U.S. presidential system. This is the height of Sino-centrism by ignorant pro-North Korean leftists who lack historical perspective and philosophy. They disrespect their hardworking and diligent ancestors who lived under a dictatorship as pathetic ancestors who suffered. This is the ignorance and ingratitude of the pro-North Korean leftists, whom Park Chung-hee foresaw when he said, "Spit on my grave." 

Before lecturing on the spirit of Roh Moo-hyun or the 'spirit of 1987 democratization,' Song Eon-seok must properly understand the history of Syngman Rhee and Park Chung-hee, and the history of December 12th and May 18th. The People Power Party must speak of the spirit of Syngman Rhee and Park Chung-hee, not the spirit of Roh Moo-hyun. 

Yoon Suk-yeol's martial law is an attempt to expel pro-North Korean leftists and anti-state forces from the Republic of Korea and protect liberal democracy. It is intended to halt the communization process of the Republic of Korea, which has been ongoing through protracted struggles under the guise of democratization since 1987. 

Before speaking of the spirit of Roh Moo-hyun, the People Power Party must fight to reveal the suspicions of election fraud, which is a primary cause of President Yoon's martial law, and to make the electoral system transparent. 

The People Power Party must fight for △resolving election fraud suspicions, △proposing a special prosecutor bill for related individuals, △boycotting early voting, △closely monitoring the storage of early voting ballot boxes, and △introducing manual vote counting and verification instead of automatic counting machines. They must check the National Election Commission's attempts at election fraud. Participation in elections under the current National Election Commission's vote counting and tabulation system, which is under suspicion of election fraud, is meaningless. 

◆ Hwang Doo-hyong 

Former Yonhap News Washington Correspondent

Former Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Yonhap News