Power is many things. It works best when used in a spirit of service to the public. But when personalities enter into the mix, it requires humility and accountability — a kind of discipline that some ruling party figures seem to have forgotten. About 500 days into President Lee Jae Myung’s government, several senior officials, including Rep. Kim Min-seok, chief of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), have taken steps or uttered words oddly out of tune for politicians — especially for a ruling bloc that took power in part because of the ethical failings of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached. One figure who has stood out for his problematic actions is former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, now chief of the DPK. Kim raised eyebrows by stepping on stage in the middle of a musical performance at a festival in Sunchang, North Jeolla Province, Oct. 15. Then three days later, he again came under public scrutiny when he came to pay his respects to a fireman who lost his life in a recent fire in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, but parked his car in the hospital’s emergency pa
