Revolutions : surreal BUT REAL

Prosecutors made these allegations against Lee Seok-ki, a first-term lawmaker of the minor opposition United Progressive Party (UPP). They submitted detailed charges against Lee, 51, to the National Assembly on Tuesday as they sought parliamentary consent for his arrest.

According to the arrest request, Lee formed the UPP and “infiltrated the National Assembly” as a proportional representative to stir up revolution and assist the North in the event of war. He allegedly formed an underground pro-North Korean organisation to carry out an armed revolt.

According to the arrest motion, Lee convened a secret meeting of the group in May and urged its 130 members to prepare an attack, saying that North Korea had effectively declared war by withdrawing from the Korean Armistice Agreement. Pyongyang declared the cease-fire agreement null and void in March.

Lee and other leaders of the group allegedly told participants to destroy infrastructure such as oil storage facilities, power transmission towers and telecommunication centres.

The plot Lee is alleged to have drawn up sounds so surreal that one may be tempted to dismiss it. Yet if 130 people make a determined effort to destroy major facilities, they could wreak havoc on South Korean society and its economy. Furthermore, there could be other, still unidentified underground organisations under the control of Lee.

Now, the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) need to swiftly pass Lee’s arrest consent motion. Then, the parties need to reflect on themselves as they have allowed a figure like Lee to become a lawmaker.

In this regard, the DP deserves much of the blame, as it paved the way for the UPP’s parliamentary presence by forming an electoral alliance in the general election in April last year, blinded by their desire to win the election.

Now, the party needs to sever ties with the UPP. DP leader Kim Han-gil said that his party would not tolerate any forces that aim to destroy the order of South Korea’s constitutional government.

Kim’s pledge sounded hollow in light of the party’s track record. As recently as last month, the party’s lawmakers mingled with UPP members at candlelight vigils held to denounce the National Intelligence Office for its alleged meddling in the December presidential election.

According to prosecutors, Lee told the May meeting of the revolutionary organisation to use the ongoing candlelight vigils against the NIS as an important means of subverting the Seoul government. 

The crackdown on Lee and his followers should serve as an occasion to uproot pro-North Korea forces in the South. According to an estimate, there are some 20,000 pro-North Korean people here. They have managed to work their way into political circles, public agencies and every field of Korean society. There should be concerted efforts to locate and eradicate them.