In March 2016, about a month before the 20th general election, a black comedy unfolded in Korean politics. Amid controversy over the so-called "nomination massacre of the non-Park faction," the Saenuri Party (now People Power Party) issued a notice to Daegu-region lawmakers who had left the party, demanding they "return the president's portrait." The demand was that since they had left the party, they should also surrender the aura of power contained in a single photograph. A fight between those trying to borrow the president's face to win votes and those trying to take it away — that was the reality behind the embarrassing "portrait controversy."
Nearly a decade has passed, enough time for the landscape to transform, yet the scene feels all too familiar. With less than two months until the June 3 local elections, the Democratic Party of Korea has issued a "restraining order on President Lee Jae-myung marketing." The party sent an official notice to each provincial and metropolitan chapter "prohibiting the use of pre-inauguration videos and photos of President Lee for promotional purposes." The party cited the need to avoid any misperception of presidential interference in party affairs. Yet pro-Lee faction figures have pushed back strongly against the measure. The tension between the pro-Lee camp, eager to leverage the president's coattails, and the "Chung Cheong-rae leadership" trying to put on the brakes could become yet another black comedy.
In Daegu, considered the fiercest battleground of this local election, the star of rampant "presidential marketing" is none other than former President Park Chung-hee. Kim Bu-kyeom, who dreams of becoming the first "Democratic Party mayor of Daegu," has loudly proposed renaming Daegu EXCO to "Park Chung-hee EXCO." Opposition candidates are scrambling to claim symbolic ground by naming the planned Daegu-Gyeongbuk New Airport "Park Chung-hee Airport." The area in front of the Park Chung-hee statue at Dongdaegu Station has become a "sacred site" for candidacy announcements. The competition to ride the "Park Chung-hee" brand, regardless of conservative or progressive affiliation, is a curious spectacle.
The end of "coattail politics" is always bound to be hollow. The very act of borrowing someone else's stature to inflate one's own image amounts to candidates negating their own relevance. Local elections are about choosing workers for the community. Candidates who have thrown their hats in the ring should compete squarely on their own merits. There is no reason to put any president — sitting or former — out front. Voters must soberly examine each candidate's policy philosophy and crisis management capability behind the presidential name.