Politicians self-reflect and criticize about the political culture after the attack on Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung

Former Prime Minister Kim Boo-gyeom is surrounded by reporters and YouTubers after visiting Seoul National University Hospital in Jongno-gu, Seoul, where Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung was hospitalized after being attacked on Wednesday. Reporter Cho Tae-hyung phototom@kyunghyang.com

Politicians from the ruling and opposition parties are continuing to self-reflect and criticize the current political culture after the attack on Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party. They say that the political culture of demonizing the other party has threatened democracy and created a social atmosphere that tolerates violence. Several politicians said, "I myself will reflect on the disappearance of politics first.”

Jung Sung-ho, a lawmaker of the Democratic Party, said on SBS radio on January 3, "The most decisive sign of democracy's collapse is the disappearance of politics of tolerance for the other party," adding, "Politicians are largely responsible for the recent situation." He also said, "Demonizing the other party and defining it as an enemy leads supporters and the public to the extremes and makes them take extreme actions," adding, "Isn't our politics too polarized?"

Kim Sang-hee, a lawmaker of the Democratic Party and the former deputy speaker of the National Assembly, said in a phone interview, "As politics has become more polarized, it has become difficult for the ruling and opposition parties to communicate and compromise. The attack on Lee should be condemned, but we should also reflect on whether our politics has become a politics of hate, a politics of hatred, and a politics of demonizing the other side."

Some pointed out that the system needs to be reformed beyond the reflection by political parties. Byun Jae-ill, a Democratic Party lawmaker, said, "People are increasingly inclined to see what they want to see on YouTube and believe what they want to believe. The biggest problem in our politics is how to solve the polarized politics that demonize and hate the other party." He added, "In order to move towards a society where diversity is respected, it is not enough for political parties to reflect, but we need to change the constitutional power structure and introduce a multi-party system that allows for coalitions.”

Suh Byung-soo, a senior member of the ruling People's Power Party (PPP), said on social media, "Even the comments on the articles reporting Lee's attack were appalling," adding, "How did violence become so commonplace in our politics? Everyone in politics is responsible for this, including myself." Seo said in a phone interview, "If someone makes a mistake, he should apologize, but I think he thinks he is going to lose if he apologizes. We need to change such things first."

The problem of being swayed by extreme supporters was also pointed out. Regarding the threat of killing Han Dong-hoon, chairman of the PPP’s emergency committee, following the attack on Lee, Yoon Hee-seok, a spokesperson for the PPP, said to reporters, "The party should absorb these people's will to create a purified public opinion, but it has failed to realize the mission of democratic politics.”

"If we want to resolve situations where there is extreme confrontation, we need to set an example in the political circle," Kim Ye-ji, a lawmaker of the PPP, said in a phone interview, adding, "I think I should take the initiative, so I'm trying not to slander others.”

Senior statesmen urged political leaders to take the initiative and refrain from using aggressive language. "It seems like political party representatives are having a competition to see who can say the most provocative things," former Environment Minister Yoon Yeo-joon said on CBS Radio, adding, "If political leaders don't start with language purification, it will be a big problem for Korean society in the future." Shin Yul, a professor at Myongji University, said, "Politicians think of the other party as an object of overthrow, not compromise,” adding, “They should restore the missing politics.”

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.