hankyoreh

The June 4 municipal elections stand as a dire warning to progressive politics in South Korea. The party vote for the Unified Progressive Party and the Justice Party was half the 2010 number; the Labor Party and the Green Party aimed to win 2% of party votes, but they only got 0.62% and 0.55%, respectively.

Even in Ulsan, regarded as the home of progressive politics, these parties helplessly watched as the Saenuri Party (NFP) swept the mayoral election, five district head positions, and the nineteen elected city council seats. The fact that progressive parties failed to win even one of the 226 elections for local government heads vividly illustrates the dismal reality.

Progressive parties’ showing in the municipal elections brings to mind the conventional saying that the progressive movement is defeated by division. There was a time when the slogan “when voting for candidates, choose the Democratic Party; when voting for the party [in the case of proportional representatives], choose a progressive party” held force. During the general elections in 2004, voters gave 10 seats to the Democratic Labor Party, which was a unified progressive party. Today, as the four fragmented progressive parties break up and make amends, each working at cross purposes, the South Korean public has moved beyond apathy to cynicism. At the voting booth, it is unclear how many South Koreans are actually able to tell the difference between these progressive parties.

The weakening of the progressive parties is very worrisome, since it could lead to stagnation in South Korean politics overall. The progressive parties used to take the lead in bold policies and agenda items, achieving changes that had a major impact on the lives of ordinary South Koreans. The progressive policies devised by the progressive parties bore fruit, first being adopted by the main opposition party and then receiving the support of the ruling party. This is the process that brought about policies that are now widely used through the country, including free school lunches, free vaccinations for infants and young children, and the introduction of low-floor buses for the disabled and the elderly. But with the progressive parties preoccupied by internal strife and division, their former ability to take the lead in forming policy has greatly diminished.

The lesson of this municipal election is that the progressive parties in South Korea must undergo a complete overhaul. This does not mean that the answer is a hasty coalition, however. Roping disparate elements into one group could easily sow the seeds of future divisions. It may take time, but regaining public confidence will require starting from scratch to calmly and thoughtfully search for a solution.

The starting point must be meeting the people where they are. The progressive parties are urged to learn a lesson from the fact that 13 of the 17 school superintendents espousing progressive values won office in the recent elections. Not only did the progressive candidates for school superintendents show a unified front, but they also showed the public the ability and the results of educational alternatives, such as innovative schools. It is only when progressive politicians put their nose to the grindstone and make a dedicated effort to fulfill the duties and responsibilities given them that the Korean people will also began to open their hearts to the progressive parties.

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