[Yonhap Photo]
SEOUL, Jan. 25 (Aju News) -- Since Kim Jung-un announced his intention to participate in the Olympic Games, we have been fighting for a month. The controversy over a unified team in women's ice hockey shows signs of aggravating into intergenerational conflict. Still, no one is trying to stop the fight.
It will not happen if it is a normal country or society. Someone, either government or civil society, would stand up to stop conflicts by coordinating the positions of both sides. What's really worried about is the absence of this social mechanism. We are living in a society where there is only a person who encourages fighting.
It was not a matter for the government to push it that way. When Kim announced his intention to participate in the Olympics, we should have made a more careful decision and response. It is not to say that North Korea should be prevented from participating or we should ease our vigilance. North Korea's participation is a good thing. While welcoming it, we had to be more careful at working-level talks. 'The devil is hiding in the details. We should not have been swayed in details.
It would be hard to make a single team with the Olympics close at hand. We can form a single team in any future international convention. It would not have been easy to persuade North Korea in negotiations. Even so, we should have done our best for the national dignity and our players. Unfortunately, the conservative side is the same. The criticism that undermines the significance and nature of the Olympic Games should be avoided.
There is no reason to hate and fight so violently if both sides make concessions. There is no difference in their position that the Olympic Games must be successful. Both sides know well about North Korea's intention. Everybody knows there will be a long and tough fight over North Korea's nuclear program after the Olympic torch goes out.
No one came out, and there are people who are busy hiding somewhere and encouraging a fight. A society which has no one to mediate is sick.
(This column was contributed by Lee Jae-ho, a politics professor at Dongshin University.)
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
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