By Kim Jong-chan
Deputy managing editor
“Polifessors” have been the target of criticism for entering politics without resigning their professorship. Polifessor, a combination of the words politics and professor, is a term used in Korea to describe those who shuttle between government posts and universities.
There have been negative opinions of polifessors as those who neglect their academic duties but are rather bent on advancing their political career. Critics say the activities of polifessors could affect schools and students.
Accordingly, universities have sought to set clearer rules on the issue of polifessors. The National Assembly has yet to begin deliberations on a bill which, if approved, will make it mandatory for professors to resign 60 days before campaigning and prevent them from being automatically reinstated after working in officialdom.
The Oct. 26 Seoul mayoral by-election saw a new breed of polifessors have a greater say in Korean politics. Previously, polifessors served as assistants, mostly policy advisers. If their boss won the election, they were given government or parliamentary posts. But this time in the by-election, things changed as polifessors, with their high public popularity, looked like de facto political leaders.
Ahn Cheol-soo, dean of Seoul National University’s (SNU) Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology, appeared to be chief campaigner voluntarily for Park Won-soon, the first independent candidate to capture the mayoralty since local autonomy was implemented in the country in 1995. Earlier, he abandoned his bid for the mayor’s seat, vacated by Oh Se-hoon of the ruling Grand National Party (GNP), to Park, a liberal lawyer-turned-activist.
Another polifessor who campaigned for Park is Cho Guk of SNU’s Law School, who reportedly has 160,000 Twitter followers. He tweeted, “Don’t be afraid. Once everyone does his or her individual role, it could change society,” apparently encouraging his followers to go to the polls and vote for Park, a liberal lawyer-turned-activist.
With only two days to go before the vote, popular software entrepreneur Ahn made a surprise visit to the headquarters of Park, then unified opposition-bloc candidate running against Rep. Na Kyung-won of the conservative GNP, and declared again his support for Park.
Polls said in the early stage of campaigns, Park led Na by a double-digit margin. Ahn’s visit to Park’s camp, part of last-ditch efforts to solicit support, helped Park beat Na in a close race as campaigns neared to an end.
Many attributed Park’s win to the Ahn Cheol-soo phenomenon. The high popularity that Ahn enjoyed as a potential Seoul mayor ― and then as a potential presidential contender ― illustrates the public disillusionment with the political establishment mired in old-fashioned politics such as factional or partisan fighting.
The change in voters’ attitude raised the possibility of a new party of being created ahead of the National Assembly elections scheduled for April next year. More than two-thirds of those in their 20s, 30s and 40s voted for Park in the by-election to protest an increase of temporary workers, rising housing rents and growing income polarization, among others.
Can the Ahn fever lead to the creation of a new party and could that party achieve success in next year’s parliamentary elections? A poll released by the Hankyoreh newspaper last week showed that 39.3 percent of respondents said that if such a new party is established, they will support it in the elections. The figure compares with 40 percent for the GNP and 11.1 percent for the main opposition Democratic Party (DP).
Opposition leaders have invited Ahn to join an initiative to establish an alliance of opposition parties ahead of the parliamentary elections. They said once Ahn continues to keep his popularity, he could become the parties’ single standard-bearer to run in the presidential race in December next year. It takes time for the public to conduct close scrutiny of a presidential aspirant.
Ahn has remained silent on the invitation. It is time for him to make clear whether he is interested in running for the country’s top post or not.