2024 comes to a close amid chaos and unrest

The year 2024, the Year of Gapjin, is coming to a close amidst chaos, unrest, and disorder. Since the beginning of the year, we have witnessed the Dior bag scandal, the sudden increase of 2,000 medical school slots, the intensification of political battles following the April 10 general elections, and the scandal involving broker Myung Tae-kyun. It has been a frustrating year in which politics became a burden on national affairs and daily life instead of alleviating people's concerns. The economy faced significant challenges, such as economic growth falling below 2% and the decline of the once-reliable semiconductor industry. However, there were also moments of hope and inspiration, such as Han Kang's Nobel Prize in Literature.

President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law on December 3, which was swiftly overturned by the National Assembly. An impeachment bill was passed eleven days later, removing him from office. It was an outrage that turned back the clock to around 1980, though it was a small consolation to see the country's democratic process at work in addressing presidential misconduct. Nevertheless, a prosecution indictment was released, accusing Yoon of urging the use of guns and axes. The acting president was subsequently impeached, and shortly after, a plane crash in Muan, South Jeolla Province, claimed 179 lives. The 1997 Asian Financial Crisis and the 2016 impeachment of President Park Geun-hye were also moments of national despair, but it is difficult to compare the magnitude of this year's shock and loss.

This year, in his third year in power, the president was expected to put the country back on track after his early mistakes, but the turmoil only deepened. His unilateral, non-communicative leadership was highlighted by the conflict between the government and the medical community over his abruptly announced policy to expand medical school slots. Ten thousand residents resigned en masse in protest, and medical students collectively took leaves of absence. The burden of this conflict fell on patients and their families. Despite pushing the policy through, no one in the government could clearly explain why 2,000 additional slots were necessary or how they would be utilized. In the year 2024, a growing belief that the government should not work like this was spreading. The pension, labor, and education reforms emphasized by the Yoon administration were reduced to mere rhetoric.

As the year draws to a close, growing concern surrounds the challenges President Donald Trump's return to office next January may bring to the South Korea-U.S. alliance. Beyond security issues, such as the future of U.S. Forces Korea and the revision of the defense cost-sharing agreement, Trump's proposed tariffs and high-tech policy initiatives can potentially disrupt South Korea's trade structure with the United States. The unpredictability of the ‘Trump risk’ goes beyond the nuclear threat from North Korea, which calls South Korea an “enemy in battle” in its Constitution, making the nuclear threat seem less serious. This is a time when the government must remain vigilant, yet its absence is being loudly felt.

Our immediate priority is to recover from the tragedy in Muan airport and determine the exact cause so that we can plan for the future. We have a DNA that has seen us through every national crisis. We will find a way to overcome it somehow, and we will be stronger after a while. We have seen the failure of politics this year, but that is the failure of politicians, not the failure of the people. In the new year, when there may be a presidential election, we can exercise our sovereignty by questioning and verifying more firmly. I believe that the chaos and darkness that enveloped us in the Year of Gapjin 2024 will dissipate with the last sunset of the year and lead to the dawn of a new beginning in the Year of Eulsa.