THE KOREA TIMES

APLN member Kim Won-soo highlighted the importance of impartial intellectual leadership and argued that to overcome the current political crisis, the ruling and opposition parties must reengage in constructive dialogue, address constitutional reforms, and avoid populist rhetoric.

The two main parties must get back to the basics. First of all, they must reengage with each other to narrow down differences on thorny political issues. They must refrain from populist rhetoric and return to the parliamentary give-and-takes away from the streets. They must engineer a mutually agreeable timeline and game plan to manage the political transition. Secondly, they must look beyond the current turmoil and discuss the future steps including the revision of the current Constitution adopted in 1987 to refine institutional checks and balances against the omnipotent presidential power. Last but not least, they must restrain themselves from the over-judicialization of politics. They must stop the politicization of the judiciary.

The two parties must wake up now. Waiting is not an option. Korea does has no time to lose. External risks and threats are mounting in all areas, security, diplomatic, economic and environmental. But the two parties are not likely to wake up until and unless the silent majority finds a collective way to speak up. The people must deliver their message of no confidence to the two parties in case of their continuing failure to wake up. This is an uphill task as the current street politics are dominated by the loud minority on the extreme ends of both sides. Challenges are greater since the loud minority is polarized but well-organized while the silent majority is impartial but unorganized.

Throughout the modern history of Korea, it was the silent majority that proved to be decisive at every turn of Korean democratic evolution. Then the real question is when and how they will be awakened. The Korean people have shown time and again they will stand up together at a time of crisis and turn it into an opportunity for another leap. It is incumbent on the politically impartial intellectual leaders from Korean civil society to awaken not only the Korean people but also political elites. Now is the time for impartial intellectual leadership.

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