Lee Jae-myung's Pure Democracy National Mobilization System Transition Party Member Sovereignty Dominance 'Political Polarization'
As Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung transitions to a national mobilization system with 'People's Pure Democracy', 'political polarization' is expected to accelerate from the existing party member sovereignty system's party member initiative dominance.
'Namuwiki' stated that Pure democracy <is possible on the Internet, but opinions cannot be presented through discussion> and <politicization of government administration will become much more serious, and political polarization will become extreme due to absolute compliance with the decisions of the party leadership they support>.
‘Namuwiki’ then stated about the representative Pure participation ‘national referendum’ that <In Korea, national referendum is specified in the Constitution, but national initiative or national recall has no basis in the Constitution, so there is controversy over whether this system can be introduced without a constitutional amendment> and <However, it is possible to stipulate it as a right of local government residents at the level of local governments, not constitutional institutions, and in fact, the Local Autonomy Act includes the right to a referendum, the right of residents to enact ordinances and request amendments (resident initiative system), and the resident recall system for local government heads and local council members> and stated that it is ‘impossible without a constitutional amendment’.
On the 28th, Representative Lee stated on SNS politics that “the people will become the true sovereigns of the Republic of Korea and open the door to a true democratic republic where the will of the sovereigns is reflected in state affairs on a daily basis” and “the renaissance of ‘citizen-centered direct democracy’ requires the participation and trust of the members” and announced the operation of Pure democracy in the political system.
The representative stated that in the direct democracy system, “At the threshold of the new year, we will soon end today’s misfortune and rediscover how great our people are,” and “We will take the lead in opening a new future by deeply engraving the people’s aspirations in our hearts and upholding the people’s will,” and “We will work even harder so that this year can be filled with hope and joy for all the people,” and distinguished the “political parties” as “we” and “future leaders for the people,” and declared it as “direct democracy for the people based on the sovereignty of the Democratic Party members.”
In the nomination process for the general election last year, this representative deviated from the ‘sovereignty of the people’ of the Constitution to ‘sovereignty of party members’, introducing a system in which a minority of party members with the right to vote for the National Assembly members’, thereby replacing opposition candidates, and establishing a ‘minority ruling system’ by an oligarchy organization of a minority of party members.
Representative Lee's declaration of direct democracy on this day shows a tactical approach in the structure where the impeachment is being transformed into 'Daejang-dong and internal strife' lawyer politics, the Democratic Party's approval rating is falling behind, and only the next presidential election preference is first.
Representative Lee previously stated that 'economic polarization is causing political polarization' and put forward 'provision of basic income' as a tool for direct democracy with the material of 'absolutizing people's livelihood politics'.
Representative Lee's basic income is excluded from the Democratic Party's platform and appears to be a link connecting party member sovereignty and pure democracy, and appears as a weapon for removing political enemies.
‘Namu Wiki’ stated that “the sovereign being the people and the extent to which the sovereign can be involved in politics are completely separate issues,” and that “there are many scholars in the Korean political science and public administration circles who are interested in the realization of direct democracy using the e-government system,” and pointed out the “disconnection of discussion” as a side effect.
‘Namu Wiki’ stated that “Will proper politics be achieved? First of all, it is impossible to present opinions through discussion. It is economically and time-wise impossible for 30 million people to hold discussions. And it is virtually impossible to obtain enough relevant information, think about it, and then vote.” He stated that as a result, “there is no way that workers will have the time and will to read that long bill,” and that “politicization of government administration will become much more serious, and political polarization that absolutely follows the decisions of the leaders of the political parties they support will become more severe. This is especially true considering the current trend of bills becoming longer and longer,” and that it is a “system in which the party leadership dominates.”
Lee targeted the Lunar New Year holiday with SNS politics, saying, “The cheering sticks of different colors came together in a cheerful chorus, preventing the regression of history. Our people will dispel the darkness of civil war with their brilliant hands and awaken the ‘Agora’ that has been sleeping in ancient times,” and that “the renaissance of ‘citizen-centered Pure democracy’ that will unfold with the revival of ‘Agora’ requires the participation and trust of its members.”
‘Namuwiki’ stated that the successful Brexit referendum by the British Conservative Party, which attempted to withdraw from the European Union (EU), was “an event that revealed the weakness of referendums that rely on public judgment even in modern times,” and that “in the Brexit referendum, the issues of illegal immigrants and refugees were significant for the general public of England, who make up the majority of the British population, but complex issues such as the economic benefits of the EU, the Belfast Agreement, and the Scottish independence movement were overlooked until Brexit was realized, clearly revealing the shortcomings of Pure democracy.”
‘Namuwiki’ stated about the ‘disadvantages of Pure democracy’ that <If the majority of the people support anti-democracy through democratic procedures, there is also the problem that future policies will also reflect anti-democratic policies in the country> and <The fact that Adolf Hitler was elected through an election and created Nazi Germany is often cited to criticize Pure democracy, and democratic centralism has also laid the foundation for a one-party dictatorship in this way, and among the Middle Eastern countries where Islam itself or the holy sharia is worshipped as the basic order, there was a rare case of Turkey, a secular democratic country, using direct democracy along with Erdogan’s neo-Ottomanism to amend the constitution to a near-dictatorship, and Napoleon III and Muammar Gaddafi used direct democracy as a tool of dictatorship. The concept of defensive democracy emerged to prevent this.>
‘Namuwiki’ stated that the Pure democracy’s disadvantages were the Conservative Party’s decision to withdraw from the European Union, and even the progressive British people’s ‘Leave Vote’ political act, <there was also the influence of various incitements and political movements that prevented the proper delivery of accurate information>.
The Constitution clearly states ‘equal opportunity for political participation’ in the preamble, and ‘freedom to establish political parties’, <organization necessary for democratic participation in the formation of the people’s political will through political party purpose/organization activities>, and <state funding support for political party operation with state protection> in Article 8, clearly stating ‘representative democracy for political parties’.
The preamble states ‘equal opportunity for politics’ as <by further solidifying the basic order of liberal democracy based on autonomy and harmony, ensuring equal opportunities for each person in all areas of politics, economy, society, and culture, enabling them to exercise their abilities to the fullest, and ensuring that they fulfill the responsibilities and obligations that come with freedom and rights>.
Article 1 of Chapter 1 of the Constitution states that it is a ‘democratic republic’, and ‘organization of political parties’ is listed in ‘Article 8 of Chapter 1’ as the top priority, ahead of ‘people (Article 10 of Chapter 2)’, ‘National Assembly (Article 40 of Chapter 3)’, and ‘government president (Article 66 of Chapter 4)’.