[Editorial] Still hoping for a great breakthrough

Koreans are feeling restless. With the economy teetering and public opinion at an unprecedented low, the leaders of this land remain deeply entrenched in a ferocious power struggle with no compromise in sight. Public faith in the government has gone up in smoke, the economy is in a tailspin and the dark clouds overhead have thrown society into a deep gloom. With such a bleak outlook, it seems impossible to find words of hope for the future.

Even so, we must find hope. Every dark cloud has a silver lining; Every tunnel has an exit. Korea is in urgent need of a leadership that is willing to take that critical first step toward the light at the end of the tunnel. The ruling and opposition parties, which are responsible for this very quagmire, must be the ones to find and open the escape hatch.

It is time for rational decision-making. It is time to put aside old grudges and think clearly and logically. An open-minded attitude must be adopted in discussing the "loaning" of lawmakers to the splinter United Liberal Democrats (ULD) by the ruling Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) and attempting to resolve the political offensive over an investigation of the Agency for National Security Planning's alleged funneling of budget funds into elections campaigns of the former ruling party.

Toward this end, the ruling party must make the first move. As can be plainly from the internal strife within the ruling MDP and ULD, the loaning of the lawmakers transcended common sense. It amounted to outright mockery of the public's right to vote. If lawmakers who are intended to represent the will of the people can be lent and borrowed for the convenience of two parties, the very laws passed by the National Assembly and even the constitution may lose their force.

President Kim said that if the opposition Grand National party (GNP) agreed to pass revisions of the National Assembly Laws, the lawmakers involved would be returned to the ruling MDP. The lawmakers should return to the ruling MDP without the "if." At the same, the opposition GNP needs to stop dragging its feet and deal with the National Assembly Laws revision.

The opposition GNP has relished its majority in the National Assembly and presented various obstacles to the ruling MDP. Its various attempts to thwart the alliance between the ruling MDP and the ULD played a role in the current crisis. If the opposition GNP was opposed to the ULD's move to become a floor negotiating group, as stated by GNP President Lee Hoi-Chang, they should have settled the question through a voting session during the regular session of the National Assembly.

Of course, having the current deadlock resolved will not turn the country around. However, there is an urgent need for more discussions between the ruling and opposition parties to hammer out an agreement as soon as possible. Without such a meeting, the country and the people will only feel abandoned. By establishing common ground where discussions can take place, a small flicker of hope may appear that the nation is actually capable of overcoming the current crisis.

Such inter-party power struggles threaten nation's future and must stop. The parties must decide whether to save the nation and the people by taking a step back in order to move forward.