[Insight & Opinion] The People Are Precious, the President Is Light

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The stern expression on the face of Acting President and Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, who also serves as Minister of Strategy and Finance, as reported in the media, clearly reflects the difficult position he is in. In his opening remarks at the Cabinet meeting on the 7th, Acting President Choi stated, “As public officials, our duty is to fear only the judgment of the people and history, and to make proper decisions and act responsibly for the nation.” This statement is entirely reasonable.

However, on the 10th, Acting President Choi’s announcement asking to “resolve conflicts by creating a special prosecutor law without unconstitutional elements through bipartisan agreement” revealed the limits of his role as Acting President by fully passing the problem-solving responsibility to the National Assembly. Fortunately, with the arrest of President Yoon by the Corruption Investigation Office on the 15th concluding without major conflict, Acting President Choi has overcome a significant hurdle.

To seek wisdom in resolving this crisis, if we were to hypothetically consult Mencius, the great teacher of the Warring States period around 300 BCE, what advice might he have given to Acting President Choi? Despite the 2,300-year gap, Mencius surprisingly left teachings that are relevant to Choi’s current situation. In the latter part of Jin Xin (盡心), Mencius expounded the principle of people-centered governance: “The people are the most precious, the altars of soil and grain come next, and the ruler is the lightest (民爲貴, 社稷次之, 君爲輕).” Here, the ruler corresponds to today’s president, and the altars of soil and grain correspond to the regime.

Then, what should Acting President Choi abandon first? Mencius’s teaching can be interpreted as advising to put aside the president first, then the regime, and prioritize only the interests of the people. Let there be no misunderstanding: putting aside the president and the regime does not mean siding with the opposition party. The opposition’s claims do not necessarily align with the people’s choice. Recent opinion polls showing rising support for the ruling party and declining support for the opposition suggest that the opposition’s repeated impeachment of the prime minister, citing refusal to appoint constitutional court justices as a reason for impeaching President Yoon, has caused excessive public anxiety as a backlash.

It seems that the people are watching with a confused heart, disappointed both with President Yoon, who attempted to paralyze the constitutional order, and the ruling party that protects him, as well as with the opposition party, which is showing impatience toward regime change. In such a confusing situation regarding the will of the people, it is even more urgent for Acting President Choi to clearly pursue state affairs in a manner that aligns with the people’s interests, regardless of the demands of the ruling and opposition parties.

As Acting President, the risk of overstepping authority is controlled by immediate checks from both ruling and opposition parties, but the vacuum caused by failure to exercise authority amplifies policy uncertainty, which directly translates into the suffering of the people. Therefore, Acting President Choi needs to be more vigilant against the risk of non-performance of authority. Only when Acting President Choi gains the trust of the people that he is doing his best solely for the stability of people’s livelihoods, despite the opposing pressures from ruling and opposition parties, will his governance gain strength, and only then can this difficult national crisis be overcome until a new government is established. Accordingly, Acting President Choi is required to pursue governance more resolutely in accordance with the historic mission entrusted to him. In this regard, policy changes such as the fundamental review of medical school quotas for the 2026 academic year are positively evaluated.

The more Acting President Choi wavers, the greater the governance vacuum becomes, and the deeper the people’s suffering will be. Mencius advises Acting President Choi to look only to the people and actively devote himself to governance.

Kim Dong-won, Former Visiting Professor at Korea University

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