So-called progressive camp calling for the overthrow of dictatorship

In May 2008, after completing the probationary reporter period, I was assigned to the Ministry of Social Affairs and became a reporter on the case team who went in and out of the police agency. Even before I was done savoring the joy of becoming a full-time journalist, I had to cover for several months the anti-U.S. beef import protests that started around the same time.

Protesters chanted slogans such as "Down with the dictatorship" and "Step down Myung-bak" at then-President Lee Myung-bak, who had just been inaugurated a few months ago. I vividly remember feeling bitter while watching the so-called progressive camp denying the democratically elected president and labeling it dictatorship. It was because if it was a real dictatorship, they would not have been able to shout "dictatorship" to their heart's content. Moreover, some of them have turned into violent protests. Regardless of the literal meaning of "progress,” the wording "progressive camp" was chosen because there was no alternative.

History is repeating itself after 15 years. The so-called progressive camp began to make similar claims regarding the issue of the discharge of contaminated water in Fukushima, Japan. Like the mad cow disease rumors, contaminated water rumors and fake news began to emerge. The opposition party has taken political advantage of the public sentiment, which is sensitive to food, and some groups are shouting slogans on the streets, saying, “President Yoon Suk Yeol must step down.”

But now few people applaud the claim of "dictatorship." Most of them just consider it an exaggerated slogan. There is also an analysis that the public's political understanding has been improved.

Meanwhile, last week, the Ministry of Public Administration and Security did not attend the ceremony commemorating the June 10 Democratic Uprising. It was because the Korea Democracy Foundation, which hosts the ceremony, sponsored a group calling for the resignation of the president. The foundation said, “The group included political content without consulting us. We will not financially support the organization,” but the Ministry of Public Administration and Security would not budge. This broke the tradition of commemorative ceremonies hosted by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security and organized by the Foundation since the June 10 Democratic Uprising was enacted as a national anniversary in 2007.

Not many people would think that the Ministry of Public Administration and Security decided not to attend the event alone. In any case, it is self-denial that the organizer was absent from the event due to a minor mistake by an affiliated organization. It has no choice but to be seen as "taming the organization" by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, like denying boarding to Air Force Unit 1, taking issue with some of my coverage at the time. It is also inevitable that the opposition party criticizes the Ministry of Public Administration and Security for being “narrow-minded.”

Do “so-called progressives” and “government that holds grudges” really intend to respect and inherit the meaning and spirit of the June 10 Democratic Uprising in 1987 that led to the current Constitution? I doubt they do because if they did, there would have been no protests shouting hearsay or episodes related to the commemorative ceremony for the democratic uprising.