단상斷想

One of the most chronic and fundamental problems that permeates our society is the distorted perception of the people by those in power. Conversely, this means that the public's aspirations for politicians or the political sphere range from a desire for better democratic politics to seeking personal success, concentrating on the apex predator of the food chain, which has more power than any vested interest group. In short, it means planning a life of finding out who has power and who can help me like a ghost, leaning on them, conforming to them, and collaborating as much as possible.

Because many people are connected to political circles, the demand is overflowing. If the people were cynical about politics, viewed it with a critical eye, and were full of cold-blooded self-esteem and pride, then politicians would have no choice but to be mindful of the people, and the old evils would have already been resolved. However, in terms of supply and demand, the people are an infinite cornucopia of the desire-filled Korean political world.

Therefore, looking at the behavior of political power, the prosecution, and the vested interests of the media, it is clear that they do not treat the people as equal sovereign citizens or the owners of a democratic society. Rather, they have treated the people as a usable means, a subject to be controlled, or a tool for maintaining their power. Eighty years have passed in this structure since liberation, and the generational gap between the lazy older generation and the younger generation, who are already accustomed to this structure, is different in the essence of life. MZ generations do not trust their parents' generation because they are anxious that politics or consumer culture will not save them but lead them to ruin. In short, it means that the cultivation of dogs and pigs transcending generations has taken root widely and deeply in Korean society.

The remarks made by Na Hyang-wook, an official at the Ministry of Education in 2016, that "the public are dogs and pigs" should be understood in this context. This statement was not an individual's impulsive outburst, but an incident that nakedly revealed the collective unconsciousness of the privileged class in Korean society. To them, the people are not beings with independent thought and judgment, but merely passive objects that can be moved by presenting appropriate conditions, followed by throwing food, and tamed through systematic control and brainwashing. This is the fruit of a seed of bribery sown by someone among the people. If the people had shunned politicians like pro-Japanese traitors, the political world would have been cleaned up a long time ago, but it was the people who were passionate about doing business, trading, and bribery according to the practices established since the Japanese colonial era. This habitual learning has spread the wrong public sentiment to rise to the position of receiving bribes. This can be called slave mentality in other words. Can we discuss Korean politics without questioning the slave mentality within us? It has been a long time since politicians came from among us, and the attribute of Korean slave mentality has been to mobilize even defectors who consider foreigners to be the enemy, not to mention fighting among ourselves, if necessary. At this point, it can be said to be almost a level of mental confusion.

You can see how this perception manifests itself specifically when looking at the behavior of politicians. During election season, they call the people "master" and voters "esteemed voters" and bow their heads. But their behavior after being elected is completely different. Campaign promises become scraps of paper, and promises made to the people are dismissed as mere political rhetoric. Deep down, they are rooted in prejudices such as, "The people don't know politics anyway," "They don't have the ability to understand complex policies," and "They only react emotionally." The attitude of the prosecution organization toward the people is even more serious. They portray themselves as guardians of the law and implementers of justice, but in reality, they view the people as objects to be punished and tamed at any time. The behavior of the prosecutors at the National Assembly recently is also an expression of this problem.

A National Assembly hearing on legislative reform of the prosecution was held regarding the case of damaged or lost banded bundles of ₩165 million in cash discovered during a search and seizure of Geonjin Buddhist priest Jeon Seong-bae's home on December 17, 2024. The 모습 (state) of the prosecutors' investigators revealed at this hearing was shocking. Investigators Kim Jeong-min and Nam Gyeong-min of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office repeated the answer, "I don't remember," whenever unfavorable questions came up. To the question, "Have you ever seen a banded bundle like that before?" and to the question, "Have you ever seen that kind of form, not as a seized item?" and to the question, "Then did you open the banded bundle and count it?" they repeated only the same answer, "I don't remember." What is serious is that circumstances have been discovered in which the investigators testified using pre-prepared expected questions and answers at the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly's legislative hearing.

Detective Kim said, "I work mechanically, so I don't remember exactly what happened," but this was a thoroughly prepared answer. As the members of the National Assembly pointed out, the investigators consistently answered "I don't remember" even to questions that should have been answered with "yes" or "no." This was an expression of their will not to tell the truth, and it was a typical brazen, privileged behavior of the MZ investigator generation that mocked the people and was not afraid of perjury.

Behind this brazenness of prosecutors lies an organizational conviction. The belief that the protection of power and vested interest cartels will protect them to the end, and the calculation that public anger is temporary and unsustainable, make them even bolder. Deep cynicism is rooted in their minds. 'After all, the public does not understand the complex investigation process.' 'They do not have the ability to distinguish legal issues.', 'They will soon forget it over time.' That is the thought. That is why he wrote 'ㅂㅅ' in his memo to the public and had no choice but to affirm when asked by a member of the National Assembly whether this meant 'retarded'. This perception is ultimately no different from defining the people as beings who cannot remember or judge, that is, 'retarded'.

The most serious problem in their mindset is the complete lack of moral sensitivity and conscience. The awareness that deceiving the public and abusing power are fundamental moral issues has become blurred. The consistent answers of "I don't remember" shown by prosecutors in the National Assembly are not a matter of memory. This shows a corrupt state of mind that has abandoned the moral obligation to tell the truth in front of the people and considers only the interests of the organization and their own self-preservation. There are several reasons why this phenomenon occurs. First, they consider themselves special beings outside the scope of general law and morality. Second, the collective conformity of the privileged class paralyzes individual conscience. Third, deceiving the public has become internalized as a natural political act due to the cultural learning effect formed in the long history of power. It's all a practice, learned evil, and a habit learned from parents. If there were parents among the parents of the prosecutors who taught fairness, these children would not have dared to think of such blatant perjury. The very brazen older generation of Korea told their children to live in this dirty sewer for success.

The perception that "the people are idiots" is a violent language and political weapon that goes beyond derogatory expressions. This is an attempt to fundamentally block their political rights and participation by labeling the people as intellectually, mentally, and morally inferior beings. If the people are incompetent and lack judgment, the logic is that their opinions do not need to be heard, their criticisms can be ignored, and their resistance can be suppressed. This definition fundamentally undermines the philosophical foundation of democratic politics. Aren't prosecutor Yoon Seok-yeol and prostitute First Lady Kim Myung-shin the ones who proved this? Democratic politics is a system built on the premise that the people have the ability to think rationally and can reach correct judgments through open discussion and deliberation. But the moment those in power define the people as 'idiots', all these premises collapse and democracy degenerates into a mere shell.

In fact, capitalism and democracy are all the same, just a fashionable new trend that prioritizes vested interests. Maintaining a form that is good for governing the masses, even if it is tied together with such a seemingly good philosophy, that is political flexibility. But in reality, the moment you fix in your mind that the people are disabled, human relationships such as parents and children, siblings, seniors and juniors all collapse, and the disabled become beings to be disposed of. Korean society is a society that has experienced this political flexibility and destruction of humanity together. Because we have not analyzed and reflected on war or colonialism, we have no choice but to engage in self-destructive politics. Those who gave their lives and fought for the country, those who donated their property for the nation, those who could not take care of their wives and children due to the anti-Japanese movement, those who experienced the tragedy of the diaspora due to forced conscription... Because of the practice of not honestly evaluating those who did important and true things, the descendants of good people cannot escape poverty, and those who lived wickedly and cleverly are now thriving.

The problem is that their distorted worldview is not limited to within the power structure. The perspective of treating students as passive memorization machines in the educational field, the attitude of calculating workers as mere production costs in the workplace, and the practice of the media seeing readers only as tools for generating advertising revenue all come from the same root. This ultimately spreads a vertical and authoritarian culture throughout society. This structural contradiction means that the vested rights also exist because there are dogs and pigs, but it is now going against even human instincts due to the vested rights of women who fundamentally ignore the truth of conception and childbirth.

Unless this problem is resolved, substantive democracy cannot function, no matter how well the formal democratic system is established. The solution requires a multi-layered and long-term approach. At the institutional level, checks and balances on power and monitoring systems must be strengthened, and expansion of information disclosure systems, support for civil society monitoring activities, guaranteeing the independence of the press, and securing the neutrality of the judiciary are necessary. In addition, a mechanism for holding power holders accountable for their wrongdoings must be established. At the cultural level, strengthening civic education and cultivating democratic citizenship are essential. The people must recognize themselves as the subject of democracy and develop the ability to monitor and check power.

The mindset of those in power who see the people as 'dogs and pigs' or 'cripples' ultimately sickens themselves and drives society into a regressive, self-destructive structure. The brazen lies of the prosecution investigators involved in the secret donation scandal are a prime example of this structural problem. Their behavior of mocking the people with consistent answers that they do not remember vividly shows how ridiculous the powerful consider the people. Unless this structure is fundamentally changed, hearings riddled with lies, the brazen behavior of the prosecution, and the arrogance of the vested interests will be repeated endlessly.

True change is possible when the people recognize themselves as the subject of democracy, constantly monitor power, and hold those in the wrong accountable. The surest way for the people to prove they are not 'idiots' is through vigilant monitoring and active participation in power. It is about seeing through the lies of those in power, holding them accountable for their evasion of responsibility, and showing that they can be replaced through democratic institutions. Through this, we must make those in power realize that they cannot treat the people carelessly. Ultimately, this is directly related to the fundamental task of democracy, which is the substantial realization of popular sovereignty. Only when we reverse the power's view of the people as 'dogs and pigs' and create a society where the people are truly the masters, can Korean democracy move towards a healthy and sustainable future. This is not a political slogan, but a historical task and responsibility that all citizens must participate in.