[Editorial] Political Parties Should Respect the Will of the Public

As the public judged the political parties once again through the Aug. 8 by-election, what the political circle should do is clear. The political circle should make efforts to reflect what the public want displayed in the by-election in the state affairs. Such efforts should be made by both winners and losers. But the current political situation is going in the exactly opposite direction. Ignoring the public, political parties are engaged in the severe political wrangling, only to make the public sick and tired of politics. For political parties are only frantically seeking the victory in the presidential election.

As the by-election came to an end, political parties will even more concentrate of the presidential election. It is right to say that the by-election yesterday, in fact, was conducted in the framework set for the presidential election. Thus it is highly likely that the political circle will be embroiled in a turbulence for the next four months until the presidential election. In the process, state affairs will be drifting and the public will be placed in confusion and instability.

Political parties should not let that happen since they are responsible for state affairs. Political parties cannot be forgiven if they are negligent to run state affairs and ignore the public especially at a time when the government fails to play a central role in state affairs mainly due to the lame duck syndrome hinders the nation. In the transitional period, political parties have as much responsibility for state affairs as the government.

In this respect, the Millennium Democratic Party is also irresponsible for seeking the establishment of a new party. For the party only focuses on winning the presidential election rather than stabilizing state affairs or the everyday life of the public when it seeks for a new party, which could lead the political landscape to an extreme confusion.

Rep. Cho Soon-hyeong of the MDP said, "The MDP is trying to deceive the public and shun the responsibility for politics going south by establishing a new party."

By making the remarks, Rep. Cho notes that despite the fact that the MDP begot the incumbent administration, it is moving to create another party in a malicious bid to evade the criticism from the public.

The public welfare and state affairs should not fall prey to political dispute or maneuvering under any circumstances. The results of the Aug. 8 by-elections reflected the expectations of the public for productive politics.