(EDITORIAL from the Korea Herald on Feb. 7)

Art of compromise

In the bygone era of military-backed dictatorships, political compromise was
almost invariably seen as a vice.

Ordinary people as well as freedom fighters
believed, with good reason, that the pursuit of a compromise was an act of
abandoning their principles. After all, freedom of speech, the pursuit of
happiness and other inalienable rights are by no means objects for compromise.
But compromise is indispensable for democracy, or government by the people, which
was restored in the nation in the mid-1980s. Democracy cannot work if no
compromise is made among people, each of them pursuing his own interest.
Nonetheless, Korean political parties are still adhering to the
pre-democratization conception of compromise as something immoral and even evil.
The unwillingness of rival parties to meet each other halfway is evidenced by the
addresses their leaders delivered in the National Assembly earlier in the week.
No change is visible in their all-or-nothing politics, which turned the National
Assembly into a battleground during an earlier session.
In his address, Rep. Hong Joon-pyo, floor leader of the ruling Grand National
Party, vowed to pass all bills of contention during the current special session.
The bills, which the party attempted in vain to railroad in the previous session,
include those concerning media convergence, the limit to bank ownership and the
separation of financial and non-financial industries.
Hong's counterpart from the main opposition Democratic Party, Rep. Won Hye-young,
told the National Assembly that there will be no retreat from his effort to block
the passage of the bills. He claimed that President Lee Myung-bak and his
conservative party are attempting to control the news media by allowing chaebol
to acquire stakes in broadcasting companies and paving the way for conservative
newspaper companies to go into the broadcasting business. He said, "A total
crisis is shaking the foundation of the democratic republic now."
But the Democratic Party will do well to reflect on advice from Park Won-soon, a
renowned social activist, who heads the Hope Institute. Park warned against
opposition for the sake of opposition, calling on the party to present
alternatives. He said, "A never-ending voice of opposition will be nothing but
irritating."
Barring instant acceptance, an alternative presupposes a compromise. As the
activist advises, the opposition party needs to demonstrate flexibility for a
change in its campaign against the ruling party.
But it is the party in power that should first offer to engage oppositionists for
a compromise. Politics ceases to function the moment the majority party attempts
to take everything and give nothing back. All-or-nothing politics is in fact no
politics, given the dictum that "politics is the art of compromise."
An encouraging sign in this regard is found not in the leadership of either party
but among individual lawmakers pressuring their parties to engage in negotiations
for compromises. One such lawmaker is Rep. Park Jong-hee of the Grand National
Party.
Rep. Park has proposed that a non-financial business concern's permissible
maximum stake in a commercial bank, which currently stands at 4 percent, be
raised to 8 percent, instead of 10 percent as specified in a revision bill
submitted by the ruling party. The new proposal should provide a breakthrough in
a tense standoff between the rival parties.
The National Assembly cannot be held hostage by partisan interests at a time when
business activities are slowing and jobs are disappearing fast. It needs to act
immediately on bills the administration has submitted to speed up a turnaround.
The rival parties have to join hands in helping the administration put the brakes
on the accelerating slide into recession, by facilitating proposed tax cuts,
spending increases and deregulation. They cannot afford to drag their feet at a
time when business activities are slowing, inventories are piling up, and jobs
are disappearing fast.
(END)