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Understanding Korean Politics Pt. 1: The Parties

For the first post of this blog, I wanted to begin dipping into politics, since that is the most frequently asked question I get about Korea, and possibly the one of the most relevant topics of late. To start off, let’s take a look at the political parties in South Korea.

Quick History

South Korea has had a relatively short history of democracy. It wasn’t really until the end of the 1980′s, when the first direct presidential election took place, did the government truly become democratic. Prior to this, South Korea had been under two consecutive dictatorships, but had seen the rapid industrialization that lifted the country up from being the poorest country in the world post-Korean War armistice. While the dictatorships of Park Chung-Hee and Chun Doo-Hwan were economically very successful, democracy suffered greatly. 

Korean political parties first emerged during the Japanese occupation, when the Korea Independence Party and the Provisional Government were established in Shanghai, China in 1928. This however, was the only main party (conservative) until after the Korean War armistice when more liberal and progressive parties emerged. Since the diversification of parties began, there have been many party name changes as well as faction parties that have come and gone. For the sake of simplicity, I will focus on the current major parties and their more recent history unless necessity dictates further explanation of the past. 

I will be explaining each of the major parties in order of its number of seats in the National Assembly (the legislative branch), and below is a political spectrum map I created as a visual representation of the parties.

Democratic Party (더불어민주당)

The Democratic Party of Korea is a center-left party with a platform of social liberalism. It is the party of the current president Moon Jae-In and at present has a majority in the National Assembly with 120 seats. 

One of the major focuses in this party of late is the routing out of corruption in society, particularly in the government and the private sector. With the impeachment of the previous president fresh in the minds of Korean citizens, there seems to be a general consensus, even between parties, that things need to be done about corruption. As the party expresses on it’s official English page, it is a people-oriented party focused on social justice, proper welfare, and fighting economic polarization. The party also tends to have a more diplomatic approach to the North Korea issues, though with the recent provocations they have supported increased sanctions.

For a further breakdown of the party’s platform, please take a look at the official page at http://theminjoo.kr/eng/platform.do.

Liberty Korea Party (자유한국당)

The Liberty Korea Party is a right-wing party with a platform of conservationism. It is the party of the now-impeached president Park Geun-Hye and currently has a second majority in the National Assembly with 107 seats. 

As with most conservative parties, this party emphasizes economic advancement and conservation of national identity in a increasingly globalized world. Per the party’s official English website, the party’s platform also echos its hard-line stance concerning North Korea. 

I am probably just speculating, but since the presidential scandal/impeachment, there seems to be a stronger emphasis on their website about having ethics and their stance against corruption. There was a lot of backlash against the party after the scandal, so this may be an effort to regain the confidence of its supporters. 

For more information, here’s their official page at http://www.libertykoreaparty.kr/web/eng/index.do.

People’s Party (국민의당)

The People’s Party is a centrist party with a platform of, you guessed it, centrism. In February of 2016, Ahn Cheol-Soo split from the Democratic Party after a fallout with Moon Jae-In, who was the party leader at the time. Ahn formed this new splinter party, taking a number of lawmakers with him. After the last general election, the party currently holds a minority in the NA with 40 seats. 

This particular party takes a more liberal view of social issues, and a more conservative view of economics. On their official English page, a stronger emphasis on Korea’s position in the 4th industrial revolution can be seen in the platform compared to the other parties. Part of this, I believe, is because Ahn Cheol-Soo was a software entrepreneur before going into politics. In his presidential campaign, he also mentioned multiple times his intention to focus more of Korea’s energy into 4th industrialization revolution R&D. Additionally, like the liberal parties, there is a strong drive to reform the welfare system and social justice, and like the conservative parties there is a push for decentralized government.

You can find a bit more information on their website at  http://people21.kr/english.html.

Bareun Party (바른정당)

The Bareun Party is a center-right party with a platform of liberal conservatism. Similar to what happened with the People’s Party, the Bareun Party is a splinter party of the Liberty Korea Party (called the Saenuri Party before the split). At the end of December 2016, anti-Park Geun-Hye members of the conservative party officially defected to create the new Bareun Party. However, a number of party members defected back just before the presidential election, so the party currently holds a minority in the NA with 20 seats.

At present, the party has not yet translated their platform into English, and due to the party being so new I myself have yet to fully understand their platform. However, what I have gathered from the things I have seen in the news and what I could read on their page is they have a slightly more liberal position on social issues than the Liberty Korea Party, but are still conservative. As of late there seems to have been little difference between the two conservative parties in terms of legislature, but unlike the LKP they have been more vocal about weeding out corruption in light of the presidential scandal.

Though it is not in English, their website can be found at http://bareun.party/, and their platform can be found at http://bareun.party/?page_id=1744.

Justice Party (정의당)

Lastly, the Justice Party is a left-wing party with a platform of liberal democracy/progressivism. This party formed in 2012, and secured 6 seats in the National Assembly after the last general election.

This party is a descendant of one of the older labor parties, and as such it is well-known for its labor activism. The Justice Party is the most progressive of the 5 main parties, but it is limited in terms of legislative power due to its size. The party’s platform mostly falls along the same lines as the Democratic Party, but has taken a much stronger stance against the power of Chaebol, the Korean business conglomerates that are family owned (like Samsung, LG, and Lotte), as well as pushing for economic reform and/or an alternative economic system.

For more, check out the party’s official website at  http://www.justice21.org/newhome/eng/index.html

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Again, this post is simply a rundown of the platforms of each party. We all know that the day-to-day happenings of a political party can quickly come to differ from what they say they want to or will do, and clashes between parties can get figuratively bloody. As time goes on, I will explain what the parties are bickering about or why there is otherwise a standoff in getting legislature passed.