Neither of rival parties can do anything alone

The ruling and opposition parties’ policy committee chairs met for the first time in the 22nd National Assembly Wednesday and decided to expedite the deliberation of bills over which they do not have major differences. The floor leaders of the rival parties also concurrently proposed the formation of meetings including a ‘consultative council of ruling and opposition parties and the government on people’s livelihoods,’ and a ‘permanent policy consultation body between the government and the National Assembly,’ respectively. The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea formally proposed a meeting of ruling and opposition party leaders to help overcome the crisis in people’s livelihood after its former leader Lee Jae-myung, who is almost certain to be its next leader, said he would like to meet President Yoon Suk Yeol again.

Two months into the 22nd National Assembly, the ruling and opposition parties have been fighting endlessly, and it is truly a relief to see some signs of cooperation for the first time. The change in attitude may result from their recognition of the public’s harsh criticism of the situation, which has been a repetitive process of pushing through bills and impeachment bills by the main opposition party with absolute majority seats, followed by a presidential veto, a parliamentary re-vote, and then scrapping. Of course, there is also the fact that both the ruling and opposition parties have gotten tired of the fruitless bickering.

However, there are already concerns that this trend will be a short-lived publicity stunt. Although the ruling and opposition parties have agreed to mobilize the ‘people's livelihood track’ by separating the bills on people’s livelihoods from issues of political dispute, it is limited to just a few bills over which there are little differences in opinion. Moreover, the chasm of distrust between the two parties is so deep that we can hardly expect them to break away from the conventional practice of tying all issues together and stopping things altogether when the dispute heats up.

The ruling and opposition parties’ ‘track of political dispute’ is still chugging along wildly. The government just adopted in the cabinet a bill to demand the National Assembly to redeliberate the Four Broadcasting Acts, which the opposition had railroaded. It is certain to be vetoed by President Yoon when he returns from vacation. The same thing is almost certain to happen with the bill on paying 250,000 won (about 182 U.S. dollars) each in subsidies for the entire population and the so-called yellow envelope law (limiting damage sought by employers against striking workers). Under these circumstances, not a single one of the 192 bills submitted by the government to the 22nd National Assembly has been approved.

Both the ruling and opposition parties are under a great illusion. Each side is intoxicated by the power of the government and the National Assembly and thus fails to self-control, blindly believing that if they use their respective power to the fullest, the other side will eventually fall. The victims of this game of chicken are the ordinary people who are desperate for their livelihoods. There are countless issues that the ruling and opposition parties need to pool wisdom together to solve, such as the global stock market, the heat wave that threatens the survival of the common people, and the pension reform that can no longer be delayed. The beginning is their awakening that they must find a path for symbiotic survival through dialogue and compromise, not by overpowering the other party with force. Neither side can do it alone.