The 20th presidential election scheduled for March 2022 is highly likely to be recorded as the worst election in history. The primary processes of the two major parties have already demonstrated the depths of political mudslinging. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea, after a brutal negative campaign battle that left its candidates battered, ultimately selected a former Gyeonggi Province governor as its nominee. The main opposition party, the People Power Party, experienced an unprecedented situation by recruiting and selecting candidate Yoon Suk-yeol, a former prosecutor general under the current administration, from outside the party.
Furthermore, the truth came to light that the son of a sitting lawmaker received 5 billion won from the developer under the guise of severance pay, surrounding the ‘Seongnam Daejang-dong Development Corruption Case,’ the pinnacle of the real estate cartel. This has exposed a pattern where politicians, legal professionals, and journalists colluded like players in a game of Go-Stop to pocket astronomical development profits. Yet, the candidates from both major parties are too busy attacking each other, conservative media floods the airwaves with articles obscuring the truth, and prosecutors delay investigations. It’s only natural that ordinary citizens’ disillusionment and anger turn into political distrust. Seeing the entrenched elites, both past and present, implicated in this scandal brings to mind the bitter scene from the movie The Insiders where the masses were likened to ‘dogs and pigs’. While the phrase ‘no candidate worth voting for’ has been heard before, this presidential election features historically unpopular candidates polarized at opposite ends, locked in fierce confrontation. This evokes the dilemma of the U.S. election, where voters were forced to choose between Trump and Hillary. Within the framework imposed by political forces, the public finds itself in the awkward position of having to pick between a ‘rotten apple’ and a ‘poisoned apple’. To break this binary structure and create opportunities for diverse candidates to emerge, we must reform biased media and dismantle concentrated power structures. Only then can there be hope for the next generation.
Amid this, former Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Kim Dong-yeon, who recently launched a ‘political startup,’ caught my attention. After subscribing to his campaign videos and interviews, I saw news that 1.2 billion won in donations had poured in within a single day. Thinking of it as a startup successfully securing ‘Series A funding,’ I decided to participate by donating. Within two weeks of founding ‘New Wave,’ volunteer-led regional offices sprang up nationwide, showing the startup’s ‘J-curve growth.’ Watching him answer panelists’ questions on the recent 《100 Minutes Debate》, I also came to understand his past friction with former Chief Policy Secretary Jang Ha-sung. Learning that the policies pushed by the policy chief, a former business school professor, stemmed from misjudging the real economy actually deepened my trust. Subsequently, as the COVID-19 crisis intensified the ‘K-shaped polarization’ – where asset values skyrocketed while the real economy declined – those policy missteps seem to have left an even more painful wound.
This presidential election must be a choice for the next generation, not just our own. I pondered which candidate I could proudly answer for when my son asks, “Dad, who did you vote for back then?” I also wondered if someone who has endured personal pain (losing a firstborn son) would seek power out of self-interest. Rather, if elected, they might shatter entrenched privileges and seek to decentralize power through constitutional amendments like a four-year presidential term with re-election. The term ‘First Penguin’ he emphasized during the debate lingers in my mind. A politician like the First Penguin, who leaps into the sea first for their comrades when ocean predators make others hesitate. Or an innovative startup diving into an uncertain market. Perhaps he might suffer the misfortune of being the first to be devoured by the predator, but I envisioned the countless penguins following in his wake. That’s why I too wake up at 4 a.m. today, dreaming of being the First Penguin, trading and writing my blog. Just in case I accidentally get swept away and fall.
Deliveryman's Blog 
Leave a comment