A fatal clash of two prosecutors-turned-politicians

They are making one foolish judgment after another instead of trying to avoid making them.

Kim Hyun-kiThe author is an editorial writer of the JoongAng Ilbo. “Happy families are all alike, but every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way,” says the famous first line in Leo Tolstoy’s masterpiece “Anna Karenina.” The statement which holds perpetual truth implies that certain essential and universal pillars are needed to sustain a happy family — and when any one of them are missing or deficient, a family can be unhappy. The “unhappy family” trope, also known as the “Anna Karenina Principle,” was expanded by Jared Diamond, the author of “Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies,” to study the requirements for success in complex undertakings across civilizations. The fastest way to decipher the conditions behind success would be identifying the factors of failure. Instead of trying to be wise, it would be better to avoid making foolish judgements.

President Yoon Suk Yeol, center, and leaders of the People Power Party, including its head Han Dong-hoon, left, takes a stroll in the presidential compound in Yongsan District, Seoul, after having dinner on Sept. 24.

Last week, Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani made Major League Baseball history by becoming the inaugural member of the 50-50 club — achieving 50 homeruns and 50 stolen bases in a single season — against the Miami Marlins. In the drama, two figures played a “silent yet meaningful supporting role” to Ohtani’s historic performance. Miami Marlins manager Skip Schumaker was consulted whether to walk Ohtani when he stepped on the plate with two on and first base open in the seventh inning when his team was trailing the Dodgers 11-3. The manager refused. When asked about his decision to not walk Ohtani after the game, he said, “That’s a bad move baseball-wise, karma-wise and baseball-gods-wise.” Another key figure was veteran umpire Dan Iassonga. He let Ohtani and his teammates as well as the exhilarated audience fully enjoy the historic moment instead of calling an automatic strike on the next batter for delaying the game. He didn’t call any penalty. Both acted on their goodwill and earned kudos for their good judgment.

Such honorable moments are a rarity in Korea, especially on the political stage. Governing People Power Party (PPP) leader Han Dong-hoon asked for a tête-à-tête with President Yoon Suk Yeol ahead of a dinner with PPP leaders. The hopeful one-on-one meeting was intentionally leaked to the press. He could have hoped to be seen as taking the initiative in resolving major setbacks such as the ongoing medical crisis and the risks related to first lady Kim Keon Hee, but the move was unwise. President Yoon hates playing with the press machine. When asked why he keeps Han — who differs in many ways from his style early in his term — Yoon praised Han’s skill of dealing with the press. Yoon could have misjudged Han, or Han could have changed upon joining politics. Or it could be that what worked during their prosecutorial career might not have worked in a political setting.

The timing wasn’t good, either. If Han really wished to talk to Yoon privately, he shouldn’t have pushed for an exclusive meeting with the president. Instead, Han could have paid a visit to the presidential residence during the Chuseok holiday period. Sources around the presidential office have been saying that the relationship between Yoon and Han, Yoon’s former protégé in the prosecution, has become irreparable after Han reportedly cut off the president fuming on the phone over the comment by Kim Kyung-ryul, a member of the emergency committee Han headed early this year, who likened the first lady as Marie Antoinette. We cannot know if the rumor is true, but Han should have known better to respect the president’s role over the remaining two and half years in his term. And it could be better if he concentrates on building his base in the conservative party.

The president had been equally rude as he didn’t spare a private moment with Han who arrived 20 minutes earlier. The president just ceremonially played host and self-congratulated his diplomacy of consolidating the nuclear plant construction deal during his visit to the Czech Republic. The president didn’t inquire about the worsening public sentiment during the five-day Chuseok period. The meeting ended as a photo-op feigning all’s well despite the president’s sinking popularity under 20 percent with public sentiment souring amid soaring prices.

The president is also ill-guided on his wife’s issue. Yoon may think that public and political attention will shift away from her after the first court ruling on Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung. But the issue involving the first lady won’t be easily forgotten and forgiven. The president is seriously wrong if he really thinks his pride will be saved by humiliating Han. The Anna Karenina Principle teaches people to avoid the factors of failure. But Yoon and Han seem to be merely chasing the losing factors. They are making one foolish judgment after another instead of trying to avoid making them. With the two former prosecutors — whose profession taught them to be proud rather than being sensible — at the helm of the government and the PPP, politics and the nation can hardly be happy.

Translation by the Korea JoongAng Daily staff.