Midterm evaluation

Election should be battleground for new visions

Only 10 days are left before the April 15 general election amid a public health emergency. Candidates for National Assembly seats are conducting their campaigning in a calm and rather sullen mood affected by the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yet the new coronavirus outbreak does not necessarily diminish the significance of the polls. The election is seen as a midterm evaluation of the Moon Jae-in administration. Its results could change the political landscape and the future of the nation. Thus both candidates and voters should do their best to ensure a fair election. Fair and free competition is crucial in selecting 300 new lawmakers who break down to 253 directly elected representatives and 47 proportional representation seats.

Most of all, all candidates of both the ruling and opposition parties should engage in presenting new policies and visions for each electoral district, our society and the entire nation. The coronavirus pandemic has actually overwhelmed major issues other than the health crisis. How to contain the virus and minimize its economic fallout is dominating the campaigns.

So the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the main opposition United Future Party (UFP) are clashing head on over the virus outbreak. The DPK is concentrating on pitching the Moon administration's strenuous efforts to check COVID-19, while the UFP is shedding light on the government and ruling party's botched early response and subsequent policy failures.

In a broader sense, the DPK is appealing for the public to support the liberal party and its candidates to ensure a stable management of state affairs and the completion of reform programs. However, the UFP and other splinter parties are calling on the voters to turn the election into a day of reckoning for the government for mishandling various issues including the economy, diplomacy, inter-Korean ties, defense and security.

But, it is disappointing that both the ruling and opposition camps are showing a lack of heated policy debates. They appear to be more focused on negative campaigns, including name-calling, mudslinging and character assassination. This will only undermine a fair election, further deepening the people's indifference to and abhorrence of politics.

Another problem is that the electoral reform, which was legislated by the DPK to help smaller parties get more proportional representation seats, has disappeared. The DPK and its rival parties have created satellite parties to gain more seats under the changed Election Law. This act is nothing more than the unabashed betrayal of democratic principles and a lie to the people.

Candidates and their parties should refrain from populism-based policy recommendations. The Moon government has come up with a 100 trillion won ($80 billion) economic rescue package to help hard-hit businesses, stabilize people's livelihoods and boost consumption. But the UFP has proposed to increase the sum to 240 trillion won, drawing criticism for trying to buy voters.

We urge voters to make a wise decision and choose better qualified candidates. They should send a strong message to the political circle that outdated politics can no longer survive. What they should really aspire to is a new hope and new vision for the future.