"Apologize to everyone." Leaving a 70-word handwritten suicide note, the mayor of Seoul, South Korea, Park Won-soon, left his residence in black and disappeared, and his body was eventually found on a mountain north of Seoul.
The picture shows the official release of Park Won-soon's suicide note on July 10, which reads "Sorry to everyone." Courtesy of The Seoul Metropolitan Government
As the mayor of Seoul for three consecutive terms, the unexpected death of Park Won-soon shook Korean society, and the Moon Jae-in government once again "damaged" a major general. What are the causes of repeated political tragedies?
"Oldest" Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon: Political Star Sadness "Fall"
On the 11th, an incense burner was erected outside the Seoul Metropolitan Government Office Building, and the white flowers surrounded the remains of Park Won-soon. A large number of people lined up around to wait for condolences, and there were cries from time to time at the scene, and some people held up signs that read "Thank you to Mayor Park".
"Park Won-soon has a gentle personality and a tenacious will, soft on the outside and tough on the inside, and he has dedicated his life to the rights of citizens." Outside the shrine hall of Seoul National University Hospital, Lee Hae-joon, the leader of the Co-Democratic Party, could not hide his grief. Over the past few days, a large number of South Korean political figures and representatives from all walks of life have gone to the Spiritual Hall to offer condolences.
Leaving a mystery behind, the 64-year-old Park Won-soon "decided" to leave. South Korean police said there were no traces of his killing, and Park Won-soon chose the "extreme way."
Park Won-soon was born into poverty. He was admitted to Seoul National University, a prestigious university in South Korea, but was expelled from school for protesting against military dictatorship and other reasons. In 1980, Park Won-soon passed the judicial examination.
The pass rate of the Korean judicial examination is extremely low, less than 3%. Professions such as prosecutors and lawyers enjoy a very high status in South Korea and are well paid, and many cold disciples regard it as a choice to change their fate. Former President Roh Moo-hyun and current President Moon Jae-in are both lawyers, and Moon Jae-in and Park Won-soon are the same trainees of the Judicial Training Institute.
But Park Won-soon was not satisfied with being an ordinary prosecutor and became a lawyer in 1983, mainly helping vulnerable groups defend their rights. He has defended the victims of South Korea's first sexual harassment case, assisted in the creation of a well-known civic organization against plutocrat interference, and called for the protection of the rights and interests of "comfort women".
In 2011, Park Won-soon, an independent candidate, was elected mayor of Seoul as a "dark horse". The victory ended a 10-year reign of South Korean conservatives in Seoul. With "helping the poor and vulnerable and improving people's lives" as the main governance platform, Park Won-soon has a high reputation and was re-elected twice in 2014 and 2018, the longest-serving mayor of Seoul.
Anti-privilege and anti-chaebols are park's hallmarks. In the "cronies of South Korean President Park Geun-hye", Park Won-soon strongly criticized Park Geun-hye, openly supported the demonstrations and rallies of the people in Seoul, and demanded that Park Geun-hye step down. He has also sued former President Lee Myung-bak and others.
Over the years, Park Won-soon has demonstrated his pro-people and honesty. In the summer of 2018, Park Won-soon and his wife "lived in the attic of the old civilian area" for nearly a month, experiencing life in an underdeveloped area. According to the Changes in Civil Service Assets regularly announced by the South Korean government, from 2011 to 2017, Park Won-soon held the least amount of assets among senior public officials for seven consecutive years; Data from March this year showed that Park Won-soon's property has no houses, shops and cars, and still has 690 million won in debt in 2019.
"I really can't stand you, I have a hard life..." He once apologized to his wife in a public publication and said to his children: "My parents have been farming in the countryside and raising cattle to take care of me all their lives, and the most important legacy they have left me is integrity and honesty... I didn't leave you a house, but I hope you understand this incompetent dad. ”
On July 11, an incense burner was erected outside the Seoul Metropolitan Government Building to offer condolences. Photographed by Zeng Nai
Park Won-soon is an active supporter of Moon's government. During the COVID-19 epidemic, Park Won-soon was known for his "iron fist against the epidemic" and took strong measures such as banning assemblies and shutting down churches; Openly support China's fight against the epidemic and call on the society not to exclude Chinese students. When the epidemic in China was severe, the city of Seoul donated emergency supplies to 12 provinces and cities in China.
Of course, controversy has always existed. Previously, public opinion and opposition had criticized some of Park Won-soon's actions as "obvious showmanship," and his children's schooling, joining the military, and their involvement with individual religious forces were repeatedly criticized. Before her disappearance, Park Wasung-soon was accused of "sexual harassment" by her former female secretary.
On the South Korean Internet, a photo of Moon Jae-in and Park Won-soon in 1982 was widely circulated. That year, they graduated from the Judicial Training Institute at the same time, and the yellowed photograph showed the two standing side by side and full of spirit. But more than 30 years later, the way the two old classmates bid farewell is lamentable - Moon Jae-in laid a wreath to the spirit hall. Lu Yingmin, the secretary general of the Blue House, relayed Moon Jae-in's remarks and said that he was deeply shocked when he overheard the bad news.
It was not only Moon Jae-in who was shocked, but also the entire South Korean political scene.
Infographic: Park Won-soon
Political Shock: The Ruling Party Has Successively "Broken Soldiers and Lost Generals"
Park Won-soon's death, without warning, is undoubtedly a thunderbolt on a sunny day for the ruling party.
According to a number of relevant people in Seoul, Park Won-soon was still working until the day before his disappearance on the 9th. After his death, both the government and the public expressed their condolences.
In addition to Moon Jae-in, South Korean National Assembly Speaker Park Byung-seok, Vice Premier Hong Nam-ki and others laid wreaths at the shrine one after another. South Korean Prime Minister Dzong Se-kyun and former UNITED Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon went to the Shrine to offer their condolences. South Korea's largest opposition party, the Future Unity Party, also "regrets" this.
In recent years, the ruling party has continuously lost a number of "generals".
In 2019, Ahn Hee-jeong, the former governor of Chungcheongnam-do Province, was imprisoned for sexually assaulting a female secretary and sentenced to 3 years and 6 months in prison. Ahn Hee was roh Moo-hyun's "right and left arm" during his administration and was seen as "Moon Jae-in's successor". The political "rising star" went to jail for a sex scandal and dropped a "nuclear bomb" on the ruling party.
In September last year, the Cao Guo incident shook the country. As Moon's "confidant", Cao Guo announced his resignation after only a little more than a month as minister of justice, and is still under investigation with his wife. Cao Guo, a supporter of reform of the Moon jae-in government's procuratorial system, has sparked controversy over his daughter's alleged forgery of documents and his family's alleged investment in private equity funds to avoid taxes.
In April, Wu Ju-dun, a 71-year-old former mayor of Busan, abruptly announced his resignation on suspicion of sexual harassment after "unnecessary physical contact" with female employees. Mr. Oh, a minister-level official during Mr. Roh's administration and was elected mayor of Busan in 2018, is also a powerful leader in the ruling Party's Common Democratic Party and has a good personal relationship with Moon Jae-in.
In just one year, many political celebrities were ruined, and Park Won-soon died in a tragic act, which undoubtedly dealt an even worse blow to the ruling party and progressive forces. Public opinion believes that frequent negative incidents will make voters question the moral image of progressive politicians.
However, in the short term, there will be no subversive changes in the political landscape of South Korea.
In the 2016 parliamentary elections, the 2017 presidential election, the 2018 local elections, and this year's parliamentary elections, the ruling party, the Common Democratic Party, has won "four consecutive victories." In particular, in the 21st parliamentary election held in April this year, the ruling party won a big victory, "winning" 180 seats out of 300 parliamentarians. The conservative forces and the largest opposition party, the Future Unity Party, have been seriously injured.
The analysis believes that it is almost certain that the progressive forces will continue to govern, but there will be shocks within the ruling party, especially the change of personnel in the Park Won-soon faction will affect the direction of the political arena to a certain extent.
South Korean politics is mainly divided into "conservatives" and "progressives", and the governing philosophy of the two camps is far from the same. The former uses the ROK-U.S. alliance as the basis of diplomatic defense strategy and regards North Korea as the "main enemy"; The latter advocates the policy of "independent diplomacy" and "independent national defense" and implements a "sunshine policy" toward the DPRK. Current presidents Moon Jae-in and Park Won-soon are regarded as representatives of the "progressive faction", while former presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak are "conservatives".
Since the 10th, Seo Jeong-kyo, the first vice mayor of Seoul, has acted as mayor. According to South Korean law, a mayoral by-election will be held in April 2021.
The body of the missing mayor of Seoul, Park Won-soon, was found near Wolong Park in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul.
How many tragedies in South Korean politics are there in the "sex scandal"?
Looking at recent political events in South Korea, "sex scandals" are not uncommon.
Deeply influenced by Confucianism, Korean society and workplace hierarchy is strict, male superiority and female inferiority are stronger, although modern society advocates equality between men and women, but in actual life, women's social status is low, providing space for "sexual harassment" in the workplace. After the "Me Too" movement entered South Korea, it quickly set off a storm, and many celebrities, high-ranking officials, religious leaders, etc. were discredited by peach news.
Although there is no direct evidence that Park Won-soon's accusation of "sexual harassment" is related to his death, public opinion analysis believes that "this has an important impact on his suicide."
Park Won-soon has always been an advocate for women's rights. In 1993, Park Won-soon joined forces with a number of lawyers to defend the victims of a "sexual harassment" case, which made the issue of "sexual harassment" widely concerned by Korean society for the first time. During his tenure as mayor of Seoul, Park served as legal counsel to various women's civil society groups calling for gender equality. After the "Me too" movement and the "Room N" incident in South Korea, Park Won-soon publicly stated that the perpetrators should be severely punished. On July 4, Park Won-soon took to social media to express his condolences to South Korean female athlete Choi Sook-hyun, who died of bullying.
Some analysts believe that if the sex scandal is true, Park Won-soon's "collapse of artificial design" will face strong social condemnation.
Due to the unique social environment, the Korean public has a very low tolerance for "sexual harassment", especially for successful politicians, and moral judgment is more stringent. As the Hank-minh Ilbo put it, Park Won-soon was a promising presidential candidate who may have chosen extremes because he was reluctant to accept public opinion and legal trials in front of the public.
After Park Won-soon's death, the police said they "will terminate the investigation into the sexual harassment case and will not prosecute." This has once again aroused public controversy. Some netizens "expressed dissatisfaction" and believed that the truth of "sexual harassment" should continue to be found out. However, there are also women's groups that believe that Park Won-soon has been actively speaking out for women's rights and interests, and the cause of death has other hidden feelings.
Before Park Won-soon, many politicians in South Korea had chosen a dead end.
In 2018, South Korea's Justice Party leader Lu Huican jumped to his death due to a bribery scandal. When the epidemic in South Korea was serious this year, an epidemic prevention official committed suicide by jumping into the river... The most lamentable thing is that former President Roh Moo-hyun jumped off a cliff in 2009 and died.
Some analysts said that Korean society is influenced by the culture of shame, and "dying to prove one's innocence" has become an option. American scholar Ruth Benedict once proposed "shame culture" when analyzing Japanese society, which was later used to study East Asian culture, which corresponds to the Western "guilt culture" and emphasizes the influence of moral "shame" on political classes and social culture.
If we analyze the growth trajectory of progressive figures such as Roh Moo-hyun and Park Won-soon, there are some similarities: growing up in the Korean democratization movement, having a strong idealistic feeling, relying on personal struggle to succeed, and having a strong sense of responsibility. They are both victims of the undercurrent of South Korean politics and a certain personal sadness that is "killable but not disgraceful"
Source: China News Service