Elect next leader based on his or her future vision

The official period of the presidential campaign began Sunday as ruling Saenuri Party candidate Park Geun-hye and main opposition contender Moon Jae-in registered to run in the election and announced their stances to the media on the first day of the registration period. Park said in a news conference, “I resign from my current position to show the people that I`ve put my everything on the people’s choice for this election. I’m doing this to bring about change and make this a country where everyone can realize their dreams.” Moon said, “As the unified candidate of the opposition camp, I feel great responsibility to change the regime. I take this call from the people seriously and will win the election.” Park pledged to retire from politics if she loses the election, meaning that she will resign from parliament. Moon, on the other hand, said he would step down from the National Assembly as he previously announced if he wins.

This presidential election is a competition between conservative rightists and progressive leftists. This is also the first showdown between female and male presidential candidates in Korea. The confrontation also can be viewed as industrialization forces vs. democratization forces, or former President Park Chung-hee vs. former President Roh Moo-hyun because Park is the daughter of Park Chung-hee while Moon used to be presidential chief of staff when Roh was in office.

Koreans tend to speculate over how many votes Park can earn in the Jeolla provinces, which favor the opposition, and how much support Moon can get in Busan and South Gyeongsang Province, the traditional turf of conservatives. Yet regional antagonism has grown much weaker. Instead, even family members can choose different candidates according to generation rather than regional background. Thus Park needs to woo young job seekers while Moon must go for the older generation, who helped develop the country from the ashes of the Korean War.

Many campaign promises of the two candidates are the same. Yet the different ideologies of their parties are reflected in current issues such as economic democratization, social welfare, policy toward North Korea and the disputed construction of a naval base on Jeju Island. It is natural to see ideological confrontation between conservatives and liberals, but the two parties should avoid getting caught up in the confrontational attitude of the past or exploit such concepts as “Park Chung-hee vs. Roh Moo-hyun.”

Earlier in the campaign period, Moon’s camp began attacking Park on past issues like a scandal over her involvement in the Jeongsoo Scholarship Foundation or incidents related to her late father such as the 1961 military coup, in which he seized power; the Yushin regime, through which he tried to rule the country for life; and the People’s Revolutionary Party incident in which eight people were executed on trumped-up charges under the Park administration. On the other hand, Park dug up Roh`s comments on the Northern Limit Line, the de facto sea border between the two Koreas, and failures of previous leftist administrations. Focusing on the past and neglecting more important issues such as policies, visions or qualifications will not help the people elect their next leader, who will greatly affect the country’s fate over the next five years.

There is a now-or-never opportunity for Korea to take a leap forward in developing into an advanced economy. The timing is also critical for diplomacy and the global economy. So voters must choose the more promising candidate based on realization of the status quo for the future of both the people and nation.