Posted : 2021-05-05 17:35
By Park Yoon-bae
The Moon Jae-in administration and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) are still reeling from the crushing defeat in the April 7 mayoral by-elections in Seoul and Busan. Now the question is whether they can regain public trust and escape the political deadlock.
From the start, the DPK stood little chance of winning the elections. It should not have fielded candidates in the country's two largest cities as it had promised earlier in accordance with the then party rules.
But the DPK changed the regulations designed to withhold it from fielding candidates in any by-elections if its elected members lost their posts due to corruption or other serious criminal acts. The change ran counter to President Moon's much-touted pledge to create a fair and just society.