The collapse of fairness with the first lady

If the president continues to get the image of betraying fairness, the conservative camp must not even dream of continuing the administration.

Lee Hyun-sangThe author is head of the editorial board of the JoongAng Ilbo. I enjoy watching professional baseball games. What adds to the joy is the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) system introduced this year. It got rid of the stress of seeing players upset about ambiguous decisions. Some say rookies are especially performing well this year thanks to the ABS. Jeong Min-cheol, a former pitcher and commentator, said that the introduction of ABS coincides with “fairness,” the latest keyword in society.

“Culinary Class Wars” on Netflix is a series about mediocre chefs challenging celebrity chefs. The highlight of the show is the decision by the blindfolded judges — Paik Jong-won and Ahn Sung-jae. Viewers rave over the fair judgment of evaluating only based on taste regardless of a chef’s reputation and fame.

In Korean society, fairness has become a “religion.” President Yoon Suk Yeol was elected by taking advantage of the mood. He attacked the hypocrisy of people in the previous administration. His campaign slogan was “fairness and common sense.” However, these two holy words turned out to be meaningless even before the upcoming halfway point of his term in office. On Oct. 15, a Pandora’s box was opened after self-proclaimed “political broker” Myung Tae-kyun released screenshots of the chat he had with first lady Kim Keon Hee.

The timing of the KakaoTalk conversation was shortly before Yoon joined the People Power Party (PPP). It is absurd that the wife of a potential presidential candidate treated “oppa”— a Korean term for an older male and sometimes husband — as a “fool” and as someone “completely dependent” on the power broker. The presidential office claimed that Kim was referring to her own brother when she mentioned “my immature and chatty oppa,” but it is unclear. Why is her brother involved in politics and what role did he play? Is politics a “family business?” As controversy arose, the presidential office explained that Myung and the presidential couple only met twice and have no special relationship. It turned out to be a lie. If the “oppa” really referred to the president, things could go out of control.

On the same day, a transcript appeared in which Myung instructed a poll team under his control during the 2021 PPP presidential primary to “raise Yoon’s rating a little bit and give him a 2 percent lead over Hong Joon-pyo [Yoon’s rival].” Even an unofficial poll could be used to boost Yoon’s chances. Myung had conducted 50 polls through a pollster called PNO from a year before the 2022 election, and Yoon was ranked first 48 times. They are different from the results of other pollsters, including Gallup Korea, in the same period, when the first and second places alternated. Manipulating public opinion is a serious crime undermining the foundation of democracy. A thorough investigation is needed. But the Yoon administration would have a hard time avoiding the suspicion that it stands on a cornerstone engraved with “injustice.”

The “fairness and common sense” the Yoon administration proudly advertises have already become thin. The two words became shameful as the first lady avoided her judicial risks from receiving a luxury handbag from a pastor and allegedly getting involved in the Deutsche Motors stock price manipulation. Instead of the dignity and determination expected of a prosecutor-turned-president, Yoon has been reduced to a lame legal engineer searching through legal codes. After the prosecution dismissed all the allegations against her on Wednesday, as expected, it will backfire. More than 60 percent support a special investigation as the public distrusts the fairness of the government.

The issue of the first lady has been pointed out since Yoon became a presidential candidate. There were shadows of her influence in the relocation of the presidential office, her invitation of guests to Yoon’s inauguration ceremony and the president’s overseas trips. There are many traces of the first lady, who is not an elected official, intervening in state affairs, appointments and party affairs. The pledge she made before the election — “I will only be faithful to the role as a wife” — is gone. The first lady’s office is expected to be set up, but it’s too late. The public opinion has been aggravated to the extent that it cannot be appeased unless the first lady disappears out of the public eye. It is the combination of carelessness, unprofessionalism and arrogance.

What the Yoon administration needs now is cool-headed self-objectification. Its defense against impeachment can collapse anytime due to the strong public antipathy towards the first lady. If the administration loses the principle of fairness before the law when it deals with the first lady’s case, there’s no hope for an escape. If the president continues to get the image of betraying fairness, the conservative camp must not even dream of continuing the administration.

Translation by the Korea JoongAng Daily staff.