{"id":2203688,"date":"2024-01-31T19:37:11","date_gmt":"2024-01-31T10:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/?p=2203688"},"modified":"2024-03-01T15:08:12","modified_gmt":"2024-03-01T06:08:12","slug":"why-new-political-parties-are-emerging-ahead-of-south-koreas-general-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2024\/01\/why-new-political-parties-are-emerging-ahead-of-south-koreas-general-elections\/","title":{"rendered":"Why new political parties are emerging ahead of South Korea\u2019s general elections"},"content":{"rendered":"
As South Korea gears up for its parliamentary elections on April 10, the political scene is marked by an increase in new parties and ongoing debates about the electoral system, potentially impacting the country\u2019s internal governance and its role in global affairs.<\/span><\/p>\n For instance, former ruling People Power Party (PPP) leader Lee Jun-seok and former main opposition Democratic Party (DP) lawmaker Yang Hyang-ja <\/span>agreed to merge<\/span><\/a> their respective parties. Then, in mid-January, a group of DP lawmakers and mayors <\/span>defected from the party<\/span><\/a> to join a new party that former DP leader Lee Nak-yon <\/span>announced<\/span><\/a> he would launch ahead of the general elections.<\/span><\/p>\n Further, the PPP <\/span>initiated procedures<\/span><\/a> for the creation of satellite parties as the DP continues to be plagued by indecision over the distribution of proportional representatives.<\/span><\/p>\n While South Korean party politics has always been volatile, political fragmentation appears to have reached uncharted territory at a time of national security and economic precariousness.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n LIPSTICK ON A PIG<\/b><\/p>\n South Korea\u2019s last parliamentary elections in April 2020 marked the first time that a mixed-member proportional representation (MMPR) system was used. In this election, out of the 300 seats in the National Assembly, 253 were filled through first-past-the-post constituencies and the remaining 47 were allocated based on proportional party lists.<\/span><\/p>\n The transition from a mixed-member majoritarian system to MMPR was fast-tracked by the DP, with support from minor opposition party lawmakers. Although this move led to <\/span>violent confrontations<\/span><\/a> in parliament, the bill passed in Dec. 2019 and aimed to create a more equitable representation system, particularly for smaller parties through the introduction of compensation seats within the proportional representation tier.<\/span><\/p>\n However, that aim faced a significant setback when the conservative Liberty Korea Party (LKP), the main opposition party at the time, <\/span>established a satellite party<\/span><\/a> named the Future Korea Party (FKP). This party was specifically designed to garner proportional votes, a strategy that circumvented the spirit of the new system.<\/span><\/p>\n Although the DP initially condemned this tactic \u2014 even referring to the FKP as a \u201c<\/span>trash<\/span><\/a>\u201d party \u2014 it eventually <\/span>adopted a similar approach<\/span><\/a> by forming its own satellite party, the Together Citizens\u2019 Party (TCP).<\/span><\/p>\n As a result, the two major parties \u2014 the DP and the LKP (which had rebranded itself as the United Future Party by this time) \u2014 competed in the single-member districts, leaving their respective satellite parties (the TCP and FKP) to contest the proportional seats.<\/span><\/p>\n This strategy led to the satellite parties winning 36 of the 47 proportional representative seats, thereby reinforcing the dominance of the two major parties in the National Assembly and effectively <\/span>counteracting the new electoral system\u2019s goal<\/span><\/a> of enhancing representation for smaller, more independent parties.<\/span><\/p>\n