An election inundated with negative campaigns

The voters must judge their promises and cast ballots in the upcoming election.

With only 30 days left until the April 10 parliamentary elections, the governing People Power Party (PPP) and the majority Democratic Party (DP) are busy exchanging negative attacks against one another without competing over constructive policy proposals they will implement if they become a majority in the election. But sadly, the two major parties are reluctant to specify their positions on a myriad of issues.

Korea adopted the presidential system long ago, but the gravity of the legislative power has become bigger than ever. Amid the deepening fragmentation of the generational, gender and class divides, the legislature must canvass people’s demands and balance their interests. The current National Assembly passed a number of controversial bills — such as the three bills devoted to protecting the rights of tenants and the bill holding small business owners accountable for accidents at their worksites — which are directly linked to people’s livelihood. Political party must make clear their party lines on such sensitive issues to help voters cast their ballots.

But reality points in the opposite direction. The two parties only focus on slandering their rival. After the PPP’s interim leader Han Dong-hoon criticized DP leader Lee Jae-myung for “colluding with pro-North Korean forces” to “help avoid his own judicial risks,” Lee attacked the Yoon Suk Yeol administration for “getting involved in the legislative election in the worst way since the fraudulent election on March 15, 1960” during the conservative government under founding President Syngman Rhee.

But voters are more interested in what solutions each party has to end the unprecedented medical crisis over increasing the enrollment quota for medical schools and what to do with the Serious Accidents Punishment Act. There are many issues the two parties must address.

The PPP promised to enact a law to restore the National Intelligence Service’s authority to investigate pro-North Korean activities at home after the authority was handed over to the police by the DP. But has the PPP really prepared effective measures to prevent the past controversy over human rights violations? The PPP also pledged to incorporate Gimpo, Guri and Hanam cities into Seoul, but has the party prepared for any side effects?

The DP also promised to pass a revision to the Grain Management Act to mandate the government to purchase surplus rice if the price falls steeply. But wouldn’t the revision distort the rice market and waste tax? If the two major parties continue to avoid answering questions about such substantial issues, that’s the same as dismissing voters’ demands.

If so, the voters must deliver their verdict on the two mainstream parties. They must watch closely to see what visions and plans the two parties present to address our national agendas such as the ultralow birthrate, the disappearance of rural areas, immigration and unification. The voters must judge their promises and cast ballots in the upcoming election. It all starts with the awakened awareness of the voters.