Politics of blame obscures real solutions (KOR)

Jang Deok-jin The author is a professor of sociology at Seoul National University. Recent remarks by People Power Party lawmaker Kim Yong-tae deserve closer attention. Responding to criticism directed at teachers over the decline in school field trips, Kim argued that the president had chosen to “set a public target by demonizing a group before beginning discussion.” He urged the administration to “stop the politics of blame and focus on the substance of solving social problems.” The comments concerned what appeared to be a relatively small issue involving school programs. Yet they captured a broader pattern that has emerged across nearly every policy area since the current administration took office. Choi Seung-ho, head of the Samsung Electronics branch of the Samsung Group Superenterprise Labor Union, answers reporters’ questions after a third post-mediation meeting at the Central Labor Relations Commission in the Government Complex Sejong on May 20, one day before the union’s planned announcement of a general strike. [JOINT PRESS CORPS] As has often been pointed out in these pages, identifying enemies is a defining characteristic of populist politics. When problems arise, the priority shifts away from solving them and toward deciding who should be blamed. Once a target is identified and attacked, the public may initially feel satisfied. But with time, little is actually resolved. Among the groups most heavily targeted under the current government are owners of multiple homes. President Lee Jae Myung has even argued that such homeowners contribute to a wide range of social problems, including declining marriage and birthrates, weakening industrial competitiveness and the risk of Korea entering a “lost 30 years” of stagnation. By today’s standards, it is a remarkable leap in logic. Owning an additional apartment supposedly makes one responsible not only for housing prices but also for whether younger generations marry or...