“Won, is it the President or the King?” …21st century Korea, the’king’ controversy

The beginning of the presidential system adopted by Korea today is the United States. There are several differences from the US presidential system in that the constitution of Korea is a mixture of elements of the parliamentary cabinet system, but the president is the same in that the president is in charge of the role of head of state.

When the foundations of the presidential system were established at the Philadelphia Constitutional Conference in 1787, the reason that the American Founding Fathers rejected the monarchy was because of the judgment that the king, who had concentrated power, produced a great deal of abuse. The use of’President’, which means the presidency of the meeting, instead of’Governor’, which means the executor, as the name for the president, also means that the focus is on distributing power. It goes without saying that it is elected by democratic process, is not hereditary, and is checked by the legislative and judiciary.

Despite such historical origins, in recent politics, there has been a controversy over President Moon Jae-in as a’king’. Criticism has been raised, centering on the opposition, that “The Blue House and the Democratic Party are holding up President Moon like a king.”

After Moon’s remarks on the 19th that he would review the payment of consolation money to all the people when the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19) situation reaches a certain level of stability, the level of remarks by the opposition parties has risen.

On the 21st, Ho-Young Joo, the National Power of the People’s Power, commented on a consolation fund review statement on Facebook on the 21st, saying, “President Moon has become a’king’ after four years in office. I couldn’t give it.”

Rep. Yoon Hee-suk of the same party also said on Facebook on the 20th, “The government seems to think that the power that has been delegated to the people for a while is completely theirs,” and “The Blue House has promised to sprinkle money to make people feel better during the election season. Seeing that, they thought they had absolute power.” Then he pointed out, “Doing what you feel like this is something you can only do with the royal money of the Joseon Dynasty.” Naetang (內帑) is a place where the personal property of a king was managed, and naetanggeum means the private property of the king.

Shin Hyun-soo, senior secretary of the Blue House Minjeong, went to work on the 22nd and was settled, but the’king’ appeared in this controversy. Independent lawmaker Geum Tae-seop, who ran for the 4·7 Seoul Mayor’s by-election, wrote on Facebook on the 19th, “The President is not a king,” and “I have an obligation to explain the state affairs in front of the people and answer questions.” Then, “The Cheong Wa Dae also said,’Please do not associate the president with the controversy regarding the departure of the senior secretary of Min Jeong,’ and said, “Are you the president or the king? “What’s different from the Blue House, Park Geun-hye, who got angry when it comes to the presidential responsibilities?”

Criticism from outside opposition figures is more blatant. In particular, the criticism against the so-called “Moonpa” who is the polar support of President Moon. In a media interview last month, a professor at Dankook University Medical School said, “The reason I hated former President Park Geun-hye is because I saw a lack of awareness of democracy. I thought I was going to make it a king-dominated country,” he said. “But the Moon Jae-in administration is more severe. “People who work under the president and those who support the president seem to be serving the Joseon Dynasty,” he said. “President Moon takes it for granted. Isn’t it embarrassing.”

Although the context is different, the passport sometimes compares President Moon to a king.

In a video released on YouTube in May last year after the victory of the general election, Lee Gwang-jae, together with Democratic Party lawmakers, said, “Former President Roh Moo-hyun and President Moon Jae-in are in a way like Taejong. If it was Taejong who dismantles the existing order and creates new tasks, the time of Sejong has come.”

Democratic Party lawmaker Goh Kohn Jeong-jeong, a former Blue House spokesman, said on Facebook after the law to establish a high-ranking public officials criminal investigation center (aircarrier) was passed in December last year, “Noron, a vested power in the past, constantly resisted all reform bills of the reform monarch Jeongjo. Did not stop reforming for the people.” President Moon Jae-in and the opposition party were compared to Jeongjo and Noron, respectively.

Of course, when the opposition party strongly criticizes President Moon, the word that the passport usually brings out is’contempt of the head of state’.

As the safety issue of the corona vaccination, which began on the 26th, became controversial, opposition parties such as Yoo Seung-min, former Congressman of the People’s Power, asked, “President Moon should become the first AstraZeneca vaccine vaccination”. Then, on the 20th, Democratic Party lawmaker Chung Cheong-rae said, “Is the head of state the subject of the experiment? This is a mockery and contempt of the head of state,” he said. “Insulting President Moon is contempt for the people who elected the president.”

In March 2019, when Na Gyeong-won, then leader of the Free Korea Party (now the power of the people), discussed the North Korean issue in a speech from a representative of the parliamentary bargaining organization, the Democratic Party said, “Please stop hearing the unfamiliar story that the President of the Republic of Korea is chief spokesman Kim Jong-un.” Had strongly opposed “contempt the head of state”.

In particular, Lee Hae-chan, the leader of the Democratic Party at the time, said, “It is a crime of contempt of the head of the state,” which caused controversy. This is because the criminal law’s’contempt of the state’, often referred to as’contempt of the head of state’, was abolished in 1988, after democratization.

Why is the difference in perceptions between the opposition parties toward President Moon gradually increasing? Professor Kim Hyung-jun of Myongji University (political science) said, “The president should play a role in conflict mediation. In Korean political culture, the president represents the people but tends to take no responsibility. It was like this in the past, but the Moon Jae-in administration feels stronger.” said. He added, “While President Moon does not remain silent about sensitive conflict matters, the perception that he is ahead of the good things is spreading to the opposition,” he analyzed. “Then a proxy conflict arises and the opposition parties fight.” .

Reporter Heo Jin [email protected]