단상斷想

The National Assembly's Special Committee on Ethics, formed by Democratic Party floor leader Kim Byung-ki, has laid bare the hypocrisy within the Democratic Party, going beyond a simple issue of committee allocation. The statement, "There is no compromise or cooperation with the sedition party," was rendered meaningless as they were seated on the Ethics Committee with the People Power Party in a 6-to-6 parity. Whether Kim Byung-ki, being from the National Intelligence Service, is hiding his Hong Gil-dong-like talents and deliberately initiated ethical cooperation with the sedition party, it seems that not only the Democratic Party but also the future of the Republic of Korea will only see futile and dirty sights. His resolute attitude, completely disregarding party members and the public, mistook the power granted to him by the public office of floor leader as authority, collapsing before his personal desire for the position. The pledge to condemn the illegality and immorality of the regime dragged around by prostitutes was scattered in the air without even crossing the threshold of the plenary hall.

Kim Byung-ki's actions are not a political compromise, but a clear political betrayal, and a scene showing that he, who shouted 'annihilation of the insurrectionary party,' has fallen into a political maneuver and turned into a convenienceist. The National Intelligence Service has the privilege of playing with many people with the goal of conversion. That's why people sometimes die in the secluded safe houses the National Intelligence Service rents in Seoul. That is the power of the National Intelligence Service, the former Agency for National Security Planning. Giving the power of floor leader to a person from the Agency for National Security Planning or the National Intelligence Service is the same as giving power to an executive of the US CIA. Allowing Kim Byung-ki to hold such a position was a national command to liquidate the insurrection, but Kim Byung-ki once again shot himself in the foot as a political rookie who is just another watermelon. He should never be given power again.

The way he acted during the floor leader election vividly showed the corruption of the Democratic Party's political culture. Even though Representative Seo Young-kyo was predominantly considered to be in the lead, the fact that Kim Byung-gi gained a windfall through the moral attack of 'son's military service controversy' suggests the high possibility of invisible power intervention and secret factional politics at play. This is the Democratic Party itself proving its double-sided behavior of being swayed by external power maneuvers while fanatically clinging to maintaining internal power. They emphasize principles and beliefs in front of the people and party members, but in reality, the factional interests and personal ambitions overwhelm everything in the core of power. Now I know why Lee Jae-myung was careful with his words and seemed awkward during his time as party leader. He must have known long ago that the enemy within is a monster with redder eyes than the enemy outside. All that's left is to watch Kim Byung-gi get brutally taken down by those monsters.

What's even more serious is that this betrayal is not an individual deviation but an inevitable result of factional politics within the Democratic Party. For a long time, the Democratic Party has been swayed in its direction by various factions such as pro-Moon, pro-Lee Jae-myung, the 586 generation, and the Yeongnam region, each pursuing their own interests. In this process, the opinions of party members and promises made to the public have been reduced to tools for power distribution between factions, and pledges and principles have become decorations taken out only during election season. Media outlets for each faction outwardly claim to be 'for the Democratic Party' or 'for progress,' but in reality, they serve as propaganda tools serving the interests of a specific faction. They offer completely different interpretations and evaluations of the same issue depending on the interests of the faction, making it impossible for party members to make objective judgments.

They remain silent or offer excuses for politicians breaking promises or compromising principles, while exaggerating even minor issues when it comes to opposing factions. The Kim Byung-gi situation is just the tip of the iceberg of these structural problems. He had to gain the support of his faction to become the floor leader, and in the process, the influence of the top members within the faction would have been more important than the promises he made to the people. The formation of the Ethics Special Committee is also likely to have been a decision based on the interests of a specific faction and the convenience of politics within the party, rather than party lines or principles.

The biggest problem with the Democratic Party is its dualistic attitude towards party members and the public, and the systematic brainwashing through factional media. During election season or in crisis situations, they emphasize 'party members are the owners' and 'promises made to the people,' but the most important decisions are made in the secret chambers of a few key figures. And these decisions are plausibly packaged and delivered to party members through media companies and YouTube political commentators positioned by faction. Each faction is building its own media ecosystem. Journalists from certain media companies, famous YouTubers, and podcast hosts represent the logic of the faction and manipulate the thinking of party members. They outwardly claim 'objective analysis' or 'progressive perspective,' but in reality, they serve as propaganda tools serving the interests of a particular faction.

The reason why party members pay party dues, participate in activities, and offer their support is because they believe in the values and pledges put forth by the Democratic Party. However, factional politicians and their media allies are ruthlessly trampling on this trust. When Kim Byung-gi shouted, "There will be no compromise or cooperation with the insurrectionary party," many party members applauded. This is because they genuinely believed in his will to defend democracy and eradicate deep-rooted evils. But for party members who witnessed that promise being overturned overnight in the face of personal political ambition, they were told to take the excuses of "the inevitability of real-world politics" or "strategic choices" and get lost. Supporters of other factions criticize this, but they show the same duplicity by making excuses when the faction they support commits a similar betrayal. This structure is like a Möbius strip. No matter what you do, the limitations of similar Korean politics are due to learning politics from pro-Japanese collaborators and military dictatorships. Korean politics, where it is difficult for politicians who put down themselves and work for the greater good to gain a foothold, is like self-employed individuals fending for themselves. Perhaps Kim Byung-gi is the kind of person who doesn't even know what shame is, only seeing it as signing a contract with a competing company.

What is worrisome is that in all of this process, party members and supporters were completely captured by the frames of factional media and YouTube political commentators. Each faction is injecting party members with a specific perspective through media companies and YouTube channels connected to them. The pro-Moon faction does it in its own way, and the pro-Lee Jae-myung faction does it in its own way, producing logic and interpretations that suit their respective interests, paralyzing the judgment of party members. The more serious problem is that party members and supporters are voluntarily participating in this brainwashing. They only listen to the logic of the faction they support, and dismiss criticisms from opposing factions as unconditional 'negativity' or 'division'. Factional loyalty takes precedence over objective facts, and they are more eager to find excuses for politicians' words and actions than to evaluate them coldly.

The level of progressive voters who are repeatedly deceived by such scams also forms a pillar of political backwardness. We must recognize that the act of trusting promises, forgetting betrayals, and 몰아주는 votes to the empty name of 'democracy' is the cause of creating such incompetent and arrogant politicians. In particular, the phenomenon of selectively consuming only information packaged by faction through YouTube and various online media, while deluding oneself as an 'enlightened citizen,' is accelerating the regression of democracy. Unless voters in the progressive camp break away from the frames of factional media and YouTubers, have more 냉철한 judgment, and hold politicians who say and do different things accountable, this politics of betrayal will continue.

The Democratic Party must now reveal the truth with dignity. Was Kim Byung-ki's Ethics Committee formation the party's official policy? Or was it a political trick based on the interests of a specific faction? And why did they push ahead with cooperation with the People Power Party despite the antipathy and warnings of the majority of party members? Kim Byung-ki must confess and apologize to the people for all the political deals behind the scenes. Furthermore, the Democratic Party must fundamentally reflect on the evils of factional politics. We must establish a system that prioritizes promises made to party members and the public over the political interests of a few factional figures, and we must establish a culture of holding even internal members accountable for violating pledges or undermining principles. Otherwise, the Democratic Party will continue to degenerate into a vested interest party that deceives the people.

The current Democratic Party is degenerating into a party of self-contradiction that will join hands with insurgents and will not refuse to be an accomplice to the prosecution's dictatorship in order to maintain its vested interests. This bizarre scene of trying to coexist with anti-democratic forces under the name of 'democracy' will only lead to the party's downfall. If you want to restore the trust of the remaining progressive parties and civil society, Rep. Kim Byung-ki should resign now, and the Democratic Party must liquidate factional politics and realize clear responsible politics. We must create a political culture that prioritizes promises to party members and the people, and be reborn as a party centered on sincere politicians whose words and actions match. Otherwise, they no longer deserve the pretense of being the 'center of the democratic camp' or the modifier of 'successor of candlelight vigils'. The Democratic Party's choice is clear. Either regain the public's trust through genuine reform, or disappear into the backwaters of history, absorbed only in factional politics and maintaining vested interests. Time is not on our side.

In addition, party members and supporters must break away from the brainwashing of factional media and YouTubers and regain their cool judgment. Do not be trapped in the logic of the faction you support, but objectively evaluate the words and actions of politicians, and hold them accountable for broken promises and violations of principles, regardless of faction.

A few days ago, in the Japanese House of Councillors election (corresponding to the upper house) held on July 20, 2025, the Liberal Democratic Party-centered coalition government failed to win a majority, and the far-right party, the Sanseito (參政黨), won 14 seats, breaking the LDP's dominance since its inception in 1955. The LDP, which was formed after the defeat in the war, was, in fact, the only party since the Meiji Restoration, but the accumulated corruption of politicians and the worsening of the people's livelihood economy ultimately favored the far-right party that advocated Japan first. The leader of the Sanseito is Sohei Kamiya (神谷宗幣), born in 1977, and his speeches make you feel that the day is coming when the Japanese far-right will reproduce how it acted a hundred years ago. The English name of the Sanseito is 'Party of Do It Yourself'. It's politics for yourself. A very honest and intuitive Japan, which has never existed in history, has emerged. Zoran Mamdani, a candidate for mayor of New York, was born in 1991 and his pledges are truly socialist. The Korean media does not introduce this dangerous rookie politician well. Trump called Zoran Mamdani a 'communist'. It's a mess. This is because Zoran Mamdani is a dangerous presence to those who gathered defectors like Kim Byung-ki, to watermelons in the Democratic Party, and to Korean mainstream media like garbage cans.

There are no young, up-and-coming politicians in Korea, only the eldest brother of Ilbe, who tries to settle things with chopsticks, and the older generation who colluded with prostitutes. Now the future depends on the people. Trust no one.