[Consumer Climate Action Column] Politics: Moving Beyond Distrust to Hope for Trust

Eunseon Lee, Co-Representative of the Consumer Climate Action Association

On December 10, 2020, the Government of the Republic of Korea declared the ‘2050 Carbon Neutrality Vision.’

‘Carbon neutrality’ refers to reducing greenhouse gas emissions caused by the use of fossil fuels and other sources, and offsetting or removing the unavoidable emissions through forests, wetlands, and other means so that the net emissions become ‘zero.’

Accordingly, changes are occurring in various fields, with one representative example being the transition to a ‘plastic-free’ society.

The Honam Reporting Headquarters of Asia Economy is running a series of ‘Consumer Climate Action Columns’ to empathize with and participate in the plastic-free movement.

As the local elections approached last June, I saw many unopened campaign brochures discarded in recycling bins everywhere. There were more than 20 brochures alone, filled with countless promises. It is not easy for candidates to introduce their faces and policies during the short official campaign period. Most voters also find it difficult to closely examine the policies of candidates running in their neighborhoods.

Moreover, during every election, candidates tend to focus less on highlighting the strengths of their own pledges and policies and more on negative campaigning that exposes the weaknesses of their opponents, which breeds voter disgust and distrust toward politics. The election battlefield has become a negative war, and the distrustful politics caused by unfulfilled promises after winning office likely leads to voter apathy toward policies and many campaign brochures being discarded unread. This raises questions such as, ‘Why do we get angry whenever we talk about politics?’, ‘Can we be happy while discussing politics?’, and ‘Can trust in politics be restored?’

In the June local elections, some areas recorded invalid votes ranging from as low as 6% to as high as 16%. What does it mean when voters go to the polling stations to elect local community leaders but cast invalid ballots? I believe this is an active expression of citizens’ dissatisfaction with existing politics. They went to vote but found no candidate who genuinely represented the will of the citizens, making a strong political statement.

Citizens’ hope for politics is a system where their voices are heard and communication takes place. Of course, this cannot be achieved by citizens alone. It requires politicians who are willing to listen carefully to citizens’ voices and reflect them in policies. Opportunities for citizens to participate directly in decision-making should be expanded through various means, both online and offline.

Policies that truly help citizens’ lives do not just appear spontaneously. A culture of elections where both citizens and candidates prioritize policies must be established, and a political environment where parties and candidates actively propose and accept policies desired by citizens is also important. Furthermore, citizens’ everyday political engagement?continuously monitoring whether elected officials fulfill their pledges and perform well in policy activities?is necessary. This process will be the first step toward realizing Article 1, Clause 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea, which states, “The sovereignty of the Republic of Korea resides in the people, and all state authority emanates from the people.”

Civil society organizations and consumer groups also propose various policies to candidates and participate in legislative activities to bring about social change. The Consumer Climate Action Association, which I belong to, is a consumer movement organization formed with consumers at its center to address climate issues. We engage consumers in practices such as reducing microplastics, adopting plant-based diets, and recycling paper cartons, and further urge policy changes.

In the June 1 local elections, we proposed policies on microplastic reduction and the right to choose vegetarian school meals to local election candidates. As a result, we received meaningful responses to our policy proposals from seven gubernatorial candidates in three metropolitan areas, 20 mayoral candidates in 11 regions, and 11 superintendent candidates in seven metropolitan areas.

Meanwhile, in the March 20 presidential election, we engaged in policy activities aimed at reducing and managing microplastics. Despite the urgency of the microplastic issue, which directly affects public health, presidential candidates did not present related pledges. Therefore, Consumer Climate Action began publicly questioning candidates to raise awareness of the need for policies to reduce and manage microplastics.

All three candidates expressed sympathy for the seriousness of the microplastic problem and showed willingness to actively prepare related legislation. Then-candidate Yoon Suk-yeol mentioned the ‘Circular Economy Transition Promotion Act,’ a pledge to fundamentally curb plastic use, and said that whether microplastic regulations would be included in this law or enacted as a separate law would be decided later.

Consumer Climate Action will observe and hold accountable President Yoon Suk-yeol and local election winners to ensure they properly implement the policies and pledges they promised. Moreover, we will not stop at policy proposals but will raise our voices and lead tangible changes through everyday political activities such as various campaigns and forums aimed at establishing systems and legislation. Through this, the influence of consumer citizens in society will grow, and politicians representing citizens’ will will humbly fulfill their entrusted roles with the authority granted to them.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.