In May, the month of family, citizens symbolized by children, parents, the elderly, and public officials stand against the backdrop of the National Assembly. This image symbolically shows that the people are not merely a number of votes, but individuals with their own lives and dignity. [Hanmi Ilbo Composite Photo]

 The People Are Not Just Votes

May is a month that makes us rethink people. There is Children's Day, Parents' Day, and Teachers' Day. On May 24th, there is also Buddha's Birthday, commemorating the spirit of compassion. 

The calendar asks: How should we treat children? How should we remember our parents? And with what mindset should we view people?

Politics, in the end, is about dealing with people. Politics counts the populace as 'so many votes,' but the people are someone's father and mother, someone's son and daughter. 

During election season, politicians humble themselves before the citizens. They call themselves servants and promise to look only towards the people. 

However, once power is in hand, their words change. The language of service disappears, replaced by language that teaches, manages, and mobilizes. 

Under the Lee Jae-myung administration, this attitude is not only revealed after the election but even in the midst of the election campaign.

The Gaze of Power Revealed During Election Season

On May 6th, on CBS radio, Park Sung-joon, a member of the Democratic Party, stated that 8 to 9 out of 10 citizens do not understand the meaning of discontinuing prosecution. Instead of explaining and persuading the public, he proceeded with calculations of political advantage based on the assumption that the public would not understand.

It is possible for citizens not to know legal terminology. However, not knowing the terms does not mean they cannot judge the essence of judicial procedures. 

Even if the people do not know the term "discontinuing prosecution," they understand why it is dangerous for power to interfere with judicial procedures related to the President's own case.

On the same day, at a State Council and Emergency Economic Inspection Meeting, President Lee Jae-myung criticized the issue of regulating illegal structures along stream banks, stating, "If we let it slide, they won't be grateful; they'll curse us behind our backs." The directive to thoroughly enforce regulations is not the problem itself. 

The problem lies in the underlying perception of the public. The premise is that if regulations are lax, the public will be pleased, but will also curse them behind their backs. This is the gaze of a person in power, rather than an administrative directive.

The election campaign scene was no different. 

On May 3rd, at a rally in Gupo Market, Buk-gu, Busan, Jung Chung-rae, leader of the Democratic Party, caused controversy by having an elementary school student call candidate Ha Jung-woo "oppa" (older brother).

While the debate about child rights and sexual implications is serious, the more fundamental issue is the perspective that treats even young children as tools to liven up a rally. Children are not props to prove a politician's approachability.

The controversy over candidate Ha Jung-woo "brushing his hand after shaking hands" can be understood in the same context. 

Regarding this scene, captured in Gupo Market, Busan, on April 29th, the candidate's camp explained it as an unconscious gesture. We cannot deny that explanation. However, the very fact that the gesture of seemingly brushing off his hand immediately after shaking hands with a voter became a controversy leaves questions. 

Who did the candidate meet at the market? Were they citizens with votes, or people with whom contact was uncomfortable?

The statement by Kim Moon-soo, a member of the Democratic Party, "If you want to be a lackey, you should be a public official," is even more direct. 

Mr. Kim's use of this expression at an event in Nakane-myeon, Suncheon-si, Jeollanam-do, on May 2nd, became known and sparked controversy over demeaning public officials. 

Public officials should not lord over the people, but they are not servants of politicians either. They are public entities who carry out administration according to laws and procedures.

The Old Grammar of Arrogance

These scenes did not appear overnight. 

The past derogatory remarks about the elderly by Minister of Unification Chung Dong-young and the controversy over former Minister of Health and Welfare Yoo Si-min's remarks about the elderly are long remembered as examples that reveal the political sphere's view of the elderly not as equal sovereign citizens. 

The cases of former Chungnam Governor Ahn Hee-jung, former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, and former Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don also leave the question of whether those in power treated women as equals.

Women should not be treated as sexual objects within power relationships. The moment this common sense breaks down, power enters a stage where it does not see people as people.

The attitude towards witnesses in the National Assembly is no different. 

Special investigations may be necessary. However, witnesses summoned to the National Assembly are not targets for the political sphere's venting of anger. It became known that a prosecutor, who was summoned as a witness during the special investigation into allegations of falsified prosecution (discontinuing prosecution), attempted suicide, and during a hearing on April 28th, the scene of asking former Ssangbangwool Director Park Sang-woong whether he had been drinking also became controversial.

Verifying a witness's testimony is different from humiliating a witness. 

The attitude of treating members of the People Power Party, who are representatives of the same citizens, not as partners for persuasion but as objects of elimination and ridicule, also turns the National Assembly into a stage for confirming power hierarchies rather than a forum for discussion.

If Humility is Difficult, Don't Engage in Politics

Ultimately, the root of the problem is the sense of hierarchy among elected officials. 

The President, National Assembly members, mayors, and provincial governors do not exist above the people. That power is temporarily delegated by the people. Nevertheless, the consciousness of existing above the people is repeatedly evident in the words and actions of President Lee Jae-myung and Democratic Party figures. 

The people are those who do not know legal terms, who curse behind their backs assuming they will get away with it, children are props at rallies, public officials are reduced to being 'lackeys' of politicians, and women are often treated as objects of harassment.

The title of the broadcast by Kim Eo-jun, who has significant influence in the progressive camp, is 'Humility is Difficult News Factory.' 

Of course, a single broadcast title cannot define the entire political sphere. However, looking at the current language of power, that statement strangely overlaps with the current sense of power. 

Humility is a virtue that has sustained the community. It is an attitude of lowering oneself before the people, not making rash judgments about others, and being careful with one's words, especially when holding power. 

Politics counts the people as 'so many votes,' but the people are someone's father and mother, someone's son and daughter. 

The moment politics begins to view those people as ignorant, assumes they curse behind their backs, treats them like props at rallies, disparagingly calls public officials errand boys, and considers women as objects of harassment, politics becomes domination rather than service. 

Humility can be difficult. However, if one cannot be humble before the people, one should not engage in politics. Those who seek to stand above the people have no right to represent them. 

"If Humility is Difficult, Don't Engage in Politics"