The president’s office and Na Gyeong-won, vice chairman of the Low Birth Rate and Aging Society Committee, are exposed to a war of nerves every day. Controversy was sparked when the President’s office refuted Hungary’s No’s ‘loan debt chief at birth’, saying it was “just a personal opinion”. When Vice Chairman No repeatedly said, “There is no way to overcome the low birth rate without money,” the President’s office openly talked about resigning as vice chairman, calling it “words and actions inappropriate.” It is unusual for the ruling and opposition parties to blush like this over a policy direction within the ruling party.
The conflict between the office of the president and the vice chairman Na also gives birth to various speculations in conjunction with the 3/8 National Convention to choose the representative of the people’s strength. This is because after Vice Chairman Na expressed his will to run for the previous presidential election despite the disincentive from the core of the passport, the presidential office seems to be putting the brakes on the half-baked idea of low birth rate.
The Vice Chair of the Low Fertility Committee is a part-time position under the direct control of the President, but it is a ministerial level position with ministers from seven ministries as ex officio members. It is an important situation to establish a medium to long-term vision and strategy to overcome the rapid decline in the population and the rapid aging trend. In this regard, Vice-Chairman Hannah’s statement that “the vice-chairman is not a public officer” is inappropriate. Criticism arises that he is ‘self-politicised’ even for saying, “It would be better if he served as a party representative at the same time,” putting aside the serious task of reconciling differences between ministries with interlinked interests.
It seems that the presidential office cannot avoid political misunderstandings. It was a practice for the government and the ruling party to coordinate internally when there were differences in policy. However, this time, the presidential office openly attacked Vice Chairman No directly, so it can no longer be seen as a simple policy debate. This is the reason why attention is drawn to the fact that the President’s office provided an excuse for the controversy surrounding Yoon Shim’s interference before the fair election.
As the debate over Vice Chairman Na’s comments continues, it is inevitable that the Yoon Seok-yeol administration’s measures against low birth rates and aging will go astray. The power of the people The war of nerves surrounding the party’s authority should not allow the country’s hundred year plan of low birth rate and aging measures to go unnoticed. The presidential office and vice chairman Na should end this debate as soon as possible.
