North Korea has interjected in an intensifying ideological dispute in Seoul, threatening to disclose “pro-North” remarks that conservative politicians allegedly made in the past.
Political pundits say its interjection is likely to make the row even muddier.
On Monday, Pyongyang’s mouthpiece on South Korean affairs said the ruling Saenuri Party’s former chairwoman and presidential frontrunner Park Geun-hye made several “pro-North remarks” during her visit to North Korea in 2002.
The statement by the North’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, or Jopyeongtong, also took aim at the Saenuri Party’s other presidential hopefuls, Rep. Chung Mong-joon and Gyeonggi Gov. Kim Moon-soo.
“The South Korean people would pass out if they heard what they said during their visits (to the North),” the propaganda agency said.
All three said the claim was absurd.
Observers said the North appears to be attempting to raise its influence over South Korean politics and public opinion ahead of the December presidential election.
“(The statement) is intended to water down the pro-North controversy aimed at the progressive forces, and to warn the ruling party members to stop spreading the dispute,” said Kim Keun-sik, a North Korea expert at Kyungnam University.
Public interest in the ideological tit-for-tat is expected to wane with the North stepping in, observers said.
“Such an issue does not hit home for most people, who have grown apathetic to such debate. Voters instead would turn immediately favorable towards a party that returns to matters concerning bettering livelihoods,” said political science professor Yoon Seung-yi of Kyung Hee University.
Analysts emphasized that the actual and tangible pending issue concerned the Unified Progressive Party members suspected of vote-rigging and that parties should not let electoral politics go awry by escalating the controversy.
“The situation has gotten out of hand,” said politics professor Jung Hae-gu of Sungkonghoe University.
“The public views ideological debate as obsolete as they feel it is an unreasonable debate that does not help social development,” he said.
The controversial UPP members, including Reps. Lee Seog-gi and Kim Jae-yeon, have shunned calls for resignation for the alleged irregularities, and are also suspected of being pro-North for their past roles in the National Liberation faction that upheld the North’s “juche” ideology.
The UPP controversy recently spilled over to the major parties with the Saenuri Party hammering the main opposition Democratic United Party for being pro-North, citing its North Korean policies and the backgrounds of some of its lawmakers.
The DUP in return condemned the Saenuri Party for invoking the ideological debate and criticized Park Geun-hye for being the daughter of late President Park Chung-hee, who ruled the country in a dictatorship in the 1970s.
Both the Saenuri Party and the DUP, meanwhile, denounced the North for interfering.
“We gravely warn the North to stop interfering with our politics and especially the presidential election,” Saenuri spokesman Kim Young-woo said in a press briefing Tuesday.
The DUP also expressed distress on Monday by stating, “We would like to make clear that North Korea must not rashly interfere with the presidential election,” through spokesman Park Yong-jin.
Over the past several weeks, the North has been releasing remarks regarding Seoul’s pro-North debate, including comments on the UPP.
“The UPP is a progressive opposition party with high support among (the South Koreans) for being a party that strives for reconciliation, harmony and ryeon-buk (North Korea-initiated) reunification, fighting for the independent rights of the 99 percent of (South Koreans) and their right to exist,” said Uriminjokkiri, a website run by the North’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, last week.
