Still lethargic just like two years ago

Who would vote for a political party next time if it can’t even look back on its past blunders?

The white paper the People Power Party (PPP) promised to publish after its crushing defeat in the April 10 parliamentary elections is yet to be published. According to party officials involved in the publication, a final version of the white paper was already completed by Aug. 14 — and scheduled to be submitted to the Supreme Council of the governing party. And yet, the release of the important paper continues to be delayed for no specific reasons. Five months have already passed since the legislative elections — and 50 days have passed since Han Dong-hoon, a former prosecutor and justice minister, was elected as head of the party. The critical delay in publishing the white paper can represent no effort for the party to reflect on what really went wrong in the election. That well explains why the conservative party is still criticized for being a “well-being party.”

The white paper reportedly covers seven fields — such as the establishment of a desirable relationship between the PPP and the government, nomination processes, promotion strategies and campaign pledges for future elections. The paper is also known to touch on the controversy over the PPP leader’s dismissal of a text message from first lady Kim Keon Hee to apologize for her suspicious acceptance of a luxury handbag from a mysterious pastor. The dismissal could be a sensitive topic for the party leader. Han’s aides don’t want to invite internal division by publishing the paper.

They worry that the publication can further worsen Han’s uncomfortable relationship with President Yoon Suk Yeol. Han already responded negatively to the publication in the national convention in July, expressing antipathy towards those involved in the publication of the white paper. “They want to hurt me,” he said.

But if the white paper has not come out due to such concerns, that’s a serious matter. A white paper aims to prevent the same mistakes and failures, not to punish someone. Even if the paper has factual errors or distortions, Han still can explain what’s wrong with the paper. A political aspirant must endure such conflict for a better future.

The intent to only enjoy the top seat doesn’t reflect true conservative values. You can hardly ignore the results of hearing out the voices of 1,000 candidates and party members over the past four months. Who would vote for a political party next time if it can’t even look back on its past blunders?

The PPP’s silence about Rep. Lee Jun-seok, former PPP leader and current lawmaker of a splinter opposition, is also irresponsible. The party expelled him shortly after winning the 2022 presidential election by treating him as “a sexual offender.” No one from the party explained the strange eviction. We wonder what really happened to the party.