People Power Party: “National Election Commission” officially acknowledged that the Democratic Party has a double standard”
Washington Correspondent
The April 7 mayoral by-elections in Seoul and Busan are just a few days away, and they will be a key indicator of public sentiment toward the current Moon Jae-in administration and the prospects for next year’s presidential election.
One of the key issues surrounding this year’s by-elections is whether the National Election Commission (NEC) is administering the elections in the required neutral and unbiased manner. This issue has been raised because the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) criticized the NEC’s decision to ban civic groups and private citizens from using slogans and banners that include phrases such as “Double standard (Koreans use the phrase called “Nae-ro-nam-bul,” which roughly translates as ‘it is romance if I do it, but in your case, it is an affair’),” “Incompetence,” and “Why are we even conducting this election in the first place?” The reason the NEC is banning these phrases is that they will make people think of the ruling Democratic Party (DP).
One of the reasons why the PPP attacks the DP for using double standards is because the current administration gained power after criticizing the so-called ‘deep-rooted corruption’ of the past conservative administrations, which eventually led to the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye. For years now, the DP has emphasized that they were not associated with corruption and that they are different from conservatives. The PPP is pointing out the fact that members of the ruling party are misbehaving even worse than the previous administrations and taking advantage of their positions.
The PPP has continuously emphasized the fact that this year’s by-elections in Seoul and Busan are being held because of the sexual misconduct by late Seoul mayor Park Won-soon and former Busan mayor Oh Geo-don, both of the DP. Previously, the DP changed its party constitution to forbid the party from nominating candidates in by-elections when they are being held due to its party members’ wrongdoing. However, the DP nominated such candidates nonetheless – after apologizing to the victims. Women’s rights groups thus wanted to use banners saying, “Why are we even conducting this election in the first place?”
Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the PPP, and other assembly members including Jeon Ju-hye and officials from the party visited the NEC’s office in Gwacheon to raise the issue on Monday. Joo and Jeon met with NEC Secretary General Kim Se-hwan to deliver their complaints regarding the election body’s stance. The following are excerpts from the Q&A session between Jeon and Kim.
Jeon: Is it correct that the NEC banned people from using phrases like “double standard,” “hypocrite,” and “incompetence” because they remind people of a certain party?
Kim: Yes.
Jeon: Did the NEC make the decision because such phrases remind people of the Democratic Party?
Kim: Yes, ma’am.
Jeon: Does it mean that the NEC admits that the DP uses double standards and is hypocritical and incompetent?
Kim: That is not just the case for us, and most of the people, I think, can assume that a certain party…
Jeon: Yes, so I will understand it as the NEC banned people from using such phrases since the DP is showing a double-standard and being incompetent and hypocritical?
This was not the first time that the PPP leadership expressed concerns about the NEC.
“We have to keep in mind what happens if the NEC loses its impartiality and independence,” said Kim Chong-in, the interim leader of the PPP, on Monday. Floor leader Joo also criticized the NEC for being biased over the South Korean president’s latest action. President Moon visited Busan in late February and said that he “feels excited to see the area for the new airport being constructed,” referring to the administration’s plan to build a new airport on Gadeok Island near Busan. The opposition party said such action by the president could improperly influence the upcoming election, but the NEC said it is not a violation of the election law.
The Chosun Ilbo newspaper exclusively reported on Tuesday that the NEC once again made another biased decision. The NEC’s Busan office rejected a private citizen’s banner that read, “We must vote to make Busan free of real-estate speculation” in an apparent reference to a major real estate scandal that has implicated the Moon administration. The citizen asked whether the decision was because of the term “real-estate speculation,” and the NEC reportedly said that it could easily remind people of a certain candidate and that it might violate election law.
Meanwhile, the NEC’s Seoul office did not take any measures against advertisement posters on Seoul metropolitan buses that read “I like you, democracy.” The main opposition party said it violates the election law, as people can clearly link it to the Democratic Party, but the NEC said it will have the Prosecutor’s Office decide whether to investigate the issue.
