February 19, 2024
SEOUL – New political factions have emerged as South Korea heads into the general election scheduled for April 10, offering an alternative to the deeply polarized political landscape.
Third parties that were launched recently have formed a coalition, the so-called “big tent” that has managed to make waves across the political landscape, wooing voters wary of the brutal power struggles between the two major rival parties.
The Reform Party, launched by former ruling party leader Lee Jun-seok last month, is at the forefront of the coalition. Recently having absorbed four other distinct minor parties, the majority of its lawmakers are former members of the two major parties. It hopes that its current centrist ideologies will lure voters frustrated with the two-party system.
“(The current political landscape) is full of unproductive forms of politics that merely attempt to vilify rivals in order to win the elections rather than competing with policies or visions,” the former People Power Party interim chair said during a debate hosted by the Kwanhun Club, an organization of senior journalists on Monday.
“We plan to do productive politics in a confident manner based on policies and issues that are crucial in shaping the future, unlike the meaningless competition and rivalry between President Yoon Suk Yeol and Democratic Party of Korea Chair Lee Jae-myung,” he added.
In line with Lee Jun-seok’s latest remarks, some political commentators suggest that if successful in establishing a viable third option, the Reform Party and the coalition could leave a significant mark on Korea’s political landscape.
The majority of third parties in Korea, like many of their global counterparts, have repeated a cycle of being born ahead of elections, only to be absorbed by bigger parties or scrapped after the big event.
But the Reform Party distinguishes itself from its predecessors by being an alliance of center-right and center-left lawmakers, unlike the previous third parties characterized by a single star politician with either a progressive or conservative view, political commentator Lee Jong-hoon pointed out.
“This is the first time in Korean history that the politicians from both left and right decided to come together to launch a single party and lead a coalition,” the political expert told The Korea Herald during a phone interview Thursday.
The Reform Party, which pushed for center-right policies upon its launch, soon merged with former Prime Minister and ex-leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea Lee Nak-yon’s New Future Party, which was considered center-left.
The current co-chairs of the Reform Party, Lee Jun-seok and Lee Nak-yon have something in common — they left their previous respective parties after being categorized as non-mainstream factions.
Lee Jun-seok became estranged from People Power Party leadership after stepping down in 2022 from his role as interim leader due to bribery and prostitution scandals. While he continued to be a ruling party member until the end of last year, he has not shied away from voicing his disapproval of policies by President Yoon Suk Yeol, who joined the People Power Party in 2021 ahead of his election victory.
Lee Nak-yon also quit the Democratic Party in December last year, following the main opposition leader Lee Jae-myung’s refusal to step down from his current chair role, despite the ex-premier’s request. Lee Jae-myung has been criticized for monopolizing his power within the party, which led to an exodus of several non-mainstream lawmakers last year.
Bridging the gap
Critics claim that the Reform Party is merely a hodgepodge of different center-left and center-right lawmakers.
Their remarks were reflected in the latest clashes between the two co-chairs of the party over the roles they would each tackle ahead of the election.
The Reform Party on Monday announced the official designation of Lee Jun-seok as the chair of its election committee, which Lee Nak-yon disapproved of and denounced the decision as the ex-ruling party head’s move to “privatize the party,” through a statement made by his spokesperson. The announcement came after an intra-party policy meeting held in the morning.
Still, Lee Jong-hoon painted a rosy picture and claimed such clashes could work in favor of the party instead of becoming a liability.
“With no lawmaker hopefully willing to monopolize their power within the Reform Party, they would likely resolve their intra-party conflicts and issues through arguments and debates, which is quintessentially the most democratic way,” the commentator explained.
Nodding towards the need to prevent such power monopoly, Lee Jun-seok said during Monday’s debate that he would “not be able to pursue any moves” regarding election campaigning “without considering Lee Nak-yon’s opinions.”
Its “democratic traits” are crucial reasons why the party needs to survive, Lee Jong-hoon stressed.
“A bleak future awaits Korea’s democracy if the Reform Party and the coalition fails. … The sense of extremism in the political sphere will only widen, with a noticeable number of center-left and center-right lawmakers already quitting the two major parties.”
Goal of 30 plus seats
It is unlikely that the Reform Party and the coalition will clinch the majority of seats in the 300-seat National Assembly with voter support for the rival parties remaining strong.
According to a Real Meter survey conducted on Feb. 15-16, support for the ruling People Power Party came to 39.1 percent, while the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea saw 40.2 percent support.
The Reform Party, which was included in the survey for the first time, saw a total of 6.3 percent support. Other minor parties such as the Green Justice Party, launched in 2012 and one of the largest third parties here, had 2.2 percent support, while the Progressive Party established in 2017 had 1.6 percent support.
The survey involved 1,009 eligible voters across Korea aged 18 or older.
However, they could successfully make an impact like the People’s Party, which was launched ahead of the previous 2020 general election by star politician Ahn Cheol-soo and later absorbed by the ruling party. It managed to secure a total of 38 seats in the Assembly at the time, a rare feat for a third party.
Lee Nak-yon painted a rosy future for his party, saying its goal is to occupy at least “30 seats in the National Assembly,” in a recent radio interview.
Experts say that it is up to how the Reform Party and the coalition navigate the election that will determine their success.
Lee Jae-myung earlier this month said he plans to stick with the current mixed-member proportional representation system for the April election, which is a game changer for the third parties.
The system, introduced to Korea in 2020, was initially adopted to help minor parties by distributing more proportional parliamentary seats to parties deemed popular among voters but less represented in constituencies. However, the two major parties at the time, the Democratic Party and the People Power Party’s predecessor the United Future Party, took advantage of the system and launched satellite parties to gain more seats.
Despite the system’s failure to live up to its full capacity of empowering third parties, experts say that it still gives them more leverage than the previous parallel voting system.
“The current voting system is a double-edged sword for the third parties. But overall, it could empower them and even give them the chance to launch their satellite parties through the coalition,” Shin Yul, a professor of political science at Myongji University said.
The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles on the general election in April, which will give shape to a new National Assembly of 300 legislators who will lead the future of Korean politics, which has undergone a decadeslong transformation from dictatorship to full liberalization, yet remains deeply divided. This is the first installment. — Ed.