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Rep. Sim Sang-jeung, the acting leader of the Democratic Labor Party (DLP), in a radio interview on Tuesday said there are areas within the party where relations with North Korea, whether in policy or action, are ¡°excessive¡±, and this was misunderstood by the public as loyalty to the communist country.
Following its devastating defeat in presidential elections, the DLP faces growing calls from within the party to sever ties with the so-called ¡°independence¡± faction of its lawmakers, who are pro-North Korea. In fact, the actions of this faction led to criticism that they weren¡¯t simply pro-North but absolutely loyal to the Stalinist regime.
A group of DLP lawmakers who paid an official visit to Pyongyang in 2005 bowed their heads in reverence before a patriots¡¯ tomb in the North Korean capital, which Seoul has designated off-limits to South Koreans who visit the communist country. The head of the DLP wrote in the visitor¡¯s book that they would not forget the patriotism shown by the fallen North Korean soldiers. A year later, even though North Korea tested a nuclear device, a group of DLP lawmakers including its leader visited Pyongyang again, and the first place they went to was the birthplace of former leader Kim Il-sung. And in the middle of the North Korean capital, the lawmakers read aloud a statement blaming the United States for the nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula. The Supreme Court later found the former secretary general, central committee members and other high-level officials of the DLP guilty of espionage.
The DLP¡¯s platform declares that foreign powers, led by the U.S., divided the Korean Peninsula and pushed the two Koreas into war against each other. The platform also declares that the West Sea naval battle shows that the forces that control South Korea are still trapped in a Cold War mentality, while the threat of war on the Korean peninsula stems from the U.S. and Japan isolating North Korea. This is the actual belief of the party, and the actions of its leadership demonstrated that fact. So how can this have been a ¡°misunderstood¡± by the public and be the fault of a minority?
If Rep. Sim is to save the DLP, she must have the courage to acknowledge the truth, which has been there for everyone to see and hear.
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