No reconciliation, no future

Both the president and the new party leader must not forget they are in the same boat.

President Yoon Suk Yeol and the new leader of the People Power Party (PPP) had dinner at the presidential office Wednesday. As members of the Supreme Council and three other candidates for the new leadership of the governing party attended the banquet, Yoon and Han couldn’t have deep conversation with one another. And yet, the two leaders showed gestures of harmony toward a better future of the conservative government.

But it’s too early to expect the two leaders to put their conflicts behind them. The president and the new PPP leader are still poles apart over how to deal with sensitive issues involving the first lady. In a press conference after his election as the party leader, Han stressed the need for the prosecution to investigate the case transparently. When asked about the need for the first lady to apologize for her acceptance of a luxury handbag from a mysterious pastor and the need to establish a separate office in the presidential office to oversee issues related to the first lady, Han said that both are needed.

Another problem is the apparent ramifications of the excessive mud fight among candidates for the new leadership until Tuesday’s national convention and the lingering conflicts between Han and Pro-Yoon lawmakers in the party. But clearly, the government and the PPP cannot turn their backs on one another. If the president and the party clash, the government collapses, as we clearly saw in the breakups of the liberal and conservative governments in 2007 and 2016, respectively.

Moreover, the National Assembly is dominated by the majority Democratic Party (DP) engrossed in impeaching the president for whatever reasons. But the PPP holds only 108 seats in the 300-member legislature. Frequent frictions between the presidential office and the party only help darken their future.

First of all, the president must respect the new PPP leader and listen to constructive proposals from the party over his national governance. Han is not Yoon’s subordinate in the prosecution anymore. If the president wants the party to just follow him, that’s a critical mistake. We hope Yoon and Han closely communicate with each other from now on.

At the same time, Han must prove his ability to embrace his opponents in the party while accurately relaying public sentiments to the president. Han’s leadership test has just begun. Even though he received overwhelming support from party members in the convention, Han must tackle tough challenges as he is not a lawmaker. He must overcome people’s unfavorable attitudes toward him, nearly on par with those toward DP leader Lee Jae-myung. If Han fails to clear such ominous repercussions of the convention, the PPP will face a bigger crisis. Both the president and the new party leader must not forget they are in the same boat.