The Korea Herald

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[Editorial] Fresh start

Reciprocal grave site visits set new tone for political parties

By Korea Herald

Published : Feb. 15, 2015 - 18:27

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The ruling Saenuri Party Chairman Kim Moo-sung paid his respects at the grave of former President Roh Moo-hyun on Feb. 14, reciprocating the major opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy Chairman Moon Jae-in’s visit to the graves of former President Syngman Rhee and former President Park Chung-hee at the National Cemetery on Feb. 9 on his first day as party chairman.

Moon’s visits to the two graves were the first by a chief of the opposition party and Kim’s visit to Roh’s grave in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, was the first such visit by a head of the ruling party.

In his visits to the former strongmen’s graves, Moon credited the late Rhee with contributing toward the founding of the Republic of Korea and the late Park with leading the country’s industrialization. At Roh’s grave, Kim expressed his respect for the late leader for working to break down regionalism and authoritarianism.

In any relationship, the first step is the most important and Moon did the right thing by visiting the graves of the two former presidents reviled by the liberals for their authoritarian regimes to show his desire to close the deep ideological divide that plagues the nation. Although there were many within the NPAD leadership who opposed Moon’s visit, he took the bold step and was rewarded with a reciprocal step by Kim.

A Gallup poll taken after Moon’s visit to the graves showed 65 percent of the respondents approved of the move while only 12 percent disapproved. The public did not look kindly on the NPAD leaders who declined to accompany Moon ― 53 percent of the respondents disapproved of their decision.

Politicians on both the right and the left should heed the people’s desire for an end to political clashes and standoffs. Over the years, politics has deteriorated to a point where it appears rival parties sometimes oppose each other for the sake of opposing. In digging their heels firmly along ideological lines, politicians have made meaningful negotiations and compromises extremely difficult to achieve.

The Saenuri Party and the NPAD got off to a fresh start with the reciprocal visits to the graves of their “adversaries.” Moon and Kim both gave credit where due, setting a new mood of reconciliation between the ruling and opposition parties. However, paying respects at grave sites should be more than just a symbolic gesture ― it should be followed by action to bring about actual changes in the way political parties behave.

As the country faces mounting challenges, it is imperative that politicians come together to do what is best for the nation, looking beyond narrow party interests.