[Kim Seong-kon] What kind of leader does Korea need now?

Korea Herald

11-02-2025

Watching the large crowds gathering in Busan and Daegu to protest the current political disruptions, foreign observers agree that the Korean people seem to have finally realized the unprecedented crisis they are now facing.
According to the demonstrators, the current problem of South Korea is not simply about a conflict between the Left and the Right, or Progressivism and Conservatism. Rather, South Korea is now at a crossroads where the people must decide which path to choose: 'a Free World country of liberal democracy or a socialist country of a people's democracy.' If President Yoon is impeached by the Constitutional Court, the next president will make that fateful choice.
Under these circumstances, what kind of leader does South Korea need? Among others, we need a leader who is free from ideology, who can embrace both extremes in our society and end the chronic political warfare that has plagued our country for such a long time. We want our leader to be neither a worshipper of obsolete Marxism nor an ardent follower of modern-day McCarthyism.
We also need a leader who has a global mindset and an international perspective. The world has changed radically, and we are now living in an era of artificial intelligence and quantum physics. Communism has failed and become extinct.
Besides, South Korea has become an affluent society for the first time in its history, due to the free-market economy and free trade. Therefore, there is no reason for Koreans to adore socialism. Besides, the Korean people value civic freedom and individuality. We must acknowledge the fact that very few Koreans want to live in a totalitarian socialist country where the government controls everything and the people are under constant surveillance.
South Korea no longer needs a leader who is obsessed with the past. Too many of our past leaders were full of grudges and resentment. Thus, they implemented a committee to investigate the past and pursue their grievances. Instead, they should have envisioned the future of the country and presented the blueprint to the people. As Chancellor Kane said in the American TV series 'The 100,' only losers hold grudges for past mistakes. Therefore, we need a future-oriented leader, not a past-obsessed one.
We also do not need a leader who confuses vengeance with justice. Indeed, some of our past leaders took revenge on their political foes in the name of justice. In fact, they simply sugarcoated vengeance with the word 'justice.' We do not trust a politician who chants justice because we know when he seizes power, he, too, becomes a man of injustice. If you consider history, you'll note that all dictators have claimed that they represent justice.
In the popular American TV series 'White Collar,' FBI agent Peter Burke says to a vengeful Neal Caffrey whose girlfriend is killed, 'There's a right way to do things and a wrong way. Revenge is the wrong way. It's short-sighted and it's dangerous.' Neal Caffrey asks, 'What's justice, then?' Peter Burke replies, 'It's restoring order, not furthering chaos.' If our leader seeks revenge, he will drive his country into chaos.
We need a leader who can speak English fluently in the summit meetings and thus socialize with world leaders comfortably. These days, most leaders in the international community speak English well. If our leader cannot speak English at all, the disadvantages will directly affect our country. Besides, the leader of a country is a head diplomat. If a diplomat cannot speak a foreign language, he cannot be a good diplomat.
As a supreme diplomat, our leader is not supposed to damage or ruin our relationship with other countries under any circumstances. Unfortunately, some of our former leaders deliberately and even publicly damaged our relationship irreparably with a neighboring country for political gain. They argue that it was retribution for past crimes. Embarrassingly, however, the damage hit our country hard, too.
We also need a leader who knows the world quite well. If our leader had not studied abroad, not lived in foreign countries for a while, or not traveled overseas extensively, he would not know other countries or other cultures well. Then, he might not be able to steer the nation in the right direction amid international tensions and crises. Especially in 2025, we need a leader who knows America quite well, as we must deal with the new policies of the Trump administration.
The Moon Jae-in administration derided South Korea by saying, 'Ige naranya?,' which can be translated into, 'Is this a country or what?' or 'What kind of country is this?' Lately, a Korean vocal group used the expression again in their song parodying the current situation in Korea.
We hope our next leader can put an end to such a mockery and build a highly esteemed country instead. Then, he will surely make us proud of our country. We are desperately waiting for such an admirable leader.
Kim Seong-kon is a professor emeritus of English at Seoul National University and a visiting scholar at Dartmouth College. The views expressed here are the writer's own. -- Ed.