Greenville: Contemporary South Korean politics, like many other countries with strong presidential systems, has traditionally been dominated by only two main parties. But now there may be a huge upheaval in the politics of South Korea. This old picture may soon change. Recent voter dissatisfaction is creating an opportunity for smaller political parties in the upcoming parliamentary elections on April 10. As voting day approaches, the two main parties – President Yoon Suk Yeol’s People Power Party and the opposition Democratic Party – have 270 seats each in the 300-member parliament. But both parties are grappling with internal conflicts and political disputes, raising the possibility of new, breakaway parties gaining ground. The result could be a multiparty legislature.
What do political scholars say?
As a political scholar focusing on East Asia and international affairs, I believe the outcome has the potential to change the country’s domestic and international agenda. The survey shows South Koreans are unhappy with the performance of their politicians over the years, with only 24 percent expressing confidence in the National Assembly in a 2022 survey. The events that followed are unlikely to improve confidence in either main party. Since Yun was elected president in 2022, his legislative agenda has faced resistance by the opposition-controlled National Assembly. As a result his plans to reform the country’s education, pension and labor systems stalled.
Security relations with Japan considered wrong
On foreign policy, the opposition Democratic Party has slammed the Yoon government’s efforts to boost security ties with Japan amid ongoing bilateral tensions over Japan’s past colonial history in Korea. In particular, the opposition criticized a bilateral agreement on compensation for victims of forced wartime labor in Korea and the Yun government’s approval of Japan’s release of waste water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean. Last fall, partly in protest against the president’s foreign policy and in an effort to change the government’s cabinet, the National Assembly passed a non-binding motion of no confidence against Prime Minister Han Duk-soo, although Yoon voted against his Prime Ministership. Refused to dismiss.
Yoon and Lee separated
The net result of the political impasse is that both the Yun government and the Democratic Party face high levels of public disapproval. Yun’s approval rating has stagnated below 40%, and a majority of voters have expressed their intention to hold his government accountable in the upcoming election by supporting opposition parties. However, the Democratic Party has failed to capitalize on Yoon’s unpopularity, due to similar public rejection of party leader Lee Jae-myung. South Korea’s two main parties have often been at odds with internal feuds between factions supporting and opposing the party leadership. In recent months, groups opposed to the leadership of both Yun and Lee have split from their respective parties.
Criticism of veto on lawyer bill
In January 2024, Lee Joon-seok, former chairman of the People’s Power Party, launched the New Reform Party together with party members who opposed the party leadership of the pro-Yun faction. This “non-Yun” faction has also criticized the President’s veto of a special counsel bill to investigate allegations involving First Lady Kim Jeon-hee of violating anti-corruption laws and engaging in stock price manipulation. Claims are included. The Democratic Party is also facing a similar challenge. Also in January 2024, Lee Nak-yeon, a former prime minister under the previous Democratic government of President Moon Jae-in, launched the New Future Party, criticizing his former party, saying it was based on unpopular leader Lee Jae-myung. It has become a “bulletproof shield”.
Fear of rift in two-party system
In particular, the “Non Jae-myung” faction criticized him for refusing to step down despite a criminal investigation on corruption charges. The strategy of these newly separated parties is to take advantage of South Korea’s mixed-member proportional election system, which provides smaller parties with an opportunity to win seats. To do this, they are focusing efforts on building concentrated support among core groups of voters. If any of the new parties that have come into existence in South Korea are able to emerge as parliamentary kingmakers, it could create a crack in the country’s two-party system and break the gridlock that has bedeviled parliamentary politics in recent years. Can free. (The Conversation)
Read also
Death toll in Russia’s terrorist attacks crosses 115, 15 suspects taken into custody
Latest World News