People are not dying. Still, some of them are definitely starving. This is due to the drought that has been going on for more than five years, resulting in the residents that depended on Geum River relying on the small water reserves from the dams that contained water from rainfall. However, the Moon administration is looking to open these dams in order to cleanse the river water of Geum River that was contaminated due to the past Lee Myung Bak administration’s Four-River Refurbishment Project. The pollution was detrimental enough to coin the term Nokjolatte, a play on words to mock the repulsive green hue the river water has taken on.

 

The initial political clash started from the discussion of whether these dams should be opened. If it were opened, it would mean that the farmers dependent on the water source for irrigation would have to rely on natural rain, which is not plausible due to the drought. However, to leave it would mean that the contaminated water of Geum River remains polluted. There is no current alternative besides opening the dam to alleviate the ever-worsening pollution.

 

Ongoing political clashes ensued, but the problem was boiled down to one agenda. The issue was shifted to the question of which government ministry should take care of the dams located throughout the Korean Peninsula. The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs (MOLIT) was responsible for the construction of the dams while the Ministry of Environment (ME) was responsible for the rural pipeline systems and water quality. The current policy that encompasses both the dams and the water quality has sparked the debate about which division should control the opening of dams.

 

 

May 23, 2017 marked all of the duties including dam construction to be transferred over to the ME. Blue House Chief of Society Kim Soo Hyun stated, “Although the balance between the two ministries is an ideal system, that ideal did not work back in the days of the Four-River Refurbishment Project.” This led to dispute among some politicians and critics that while it is true that such chemistry is proved to be inefficient, there is still not enough reason why the ME should be favored over the MOLIT.

 

Some critics argue that the standardization of water system maintenance is not desirable. Yoon Kyung Ho of Maeil Kyungjae writes, “Policy for water control does not simply end with accumulating enough water for the population to use. It should be able to put the relation between mankind and the ecosystem into perspective.” He went on further to state that the United States (U.S.), which has far more advanced water regulations and national parks, have over eight government ministries supervising the water systems. 

 

Still, the greatest cause for concern came from the claim that such biased transfer of duties is a political backlash by the Moon administration against the opposition party. The Four-River Refurbishment Project started in the past Lee administration was also the hot potato in that era. The current clash reignited the debate whether the present administration is making the decisions just for the sake of political leverage for the ruling party.

 

This is not the first time that the ruling Democratic Party has been accused of its political impetus originating from a sense of self-righteousness rather than achieving consensus through dialogue. During the confirmation hearings of major government officials, the Moon administration was criticized for eating their own words. Before the election, President Moon stated that he would only consider those without a hint of corruption for positions in his administration. However, the candidates he actually chose were filled with records of corruption, drunk driving, and double nationalities.

 

One example would be ex-Minister ofNational Defense Candidate Song Yong Moo, who had initially stated he has never driven intoxicated. Song repealed his comments after incriminating evidence was found. He was still selected as the Minister of Defense nevertheless. The current Blue House Executive Official Tak Hyeon Min also has history of justifying abuse of underage women in his book Manual for Men’s Minds (2008). The phrases in this book include “Pregnant female teachers are sexy” and “my first sexual intercourse was in my first grade of high school with a girl I ‘shared’ with my friends.”

 

The Moon administration has also imposed its party’s political agenda in the fields of education. The issue of shutting down private high schools in Korea was able to be suspended in the former Park administration due to the different political affiliations of the Chief of Education for Seoul Cho Hee Yeon and the Minister of Education Hwang Woo Yeo. Cho has tried to make the problem open for public opinion but failed since Hwang drew back from any debate of the matter, stating Cho was abusing his power of office. However, after the birth of the Moon administration, the Minister of Education has changed to Kim Sang Gon, who is more than willing to carry on the torch to plow through the core policies of shutting down the elite schools.

 

President Moon has always been conscious of his public image that gravitates towards neutrality ever since the election in various social issues. A sense of unity between the conservative and the liberal was one of his key promises as he kicked off his presidency. Nevertheless, his actions show a different side to his government, where it seems liberal politics are being used for the sake of being labeled liberal, rather than the actual substance of their policies. The true identity of being liberal lies in the mentality that is open to accommodating and reconciling different views.