The Democratic Party is still in the doldrums. Unlike other parties, whose support ratings roughly match the results of the April 9 general election, the DP’s have an 8 point gap.

If you compare the results of an August 13 survey by the Korea Society Opinion Institute with the results of the general election, the Grand National Party had 37 percent support against 37.5 percent of the general election vote, indicating almost no change. The Liberty Forward Party was almost the same with 6.8 percent and 6.9 percent, while the Democratic Labor Party had higher support than at the time of the general election, with 8.2 percent against 5.7 percent.

The DP was the only party that could not pull out of the slump, with 16.5 percent against 25.2 percent at the time of the general election. DP strategic planning committee head Yoon Ho-jung said even in its own survey, the party’s support was in a rut. This is despite the fact that since Rep. Chung Sye-kyu has taken over the party, it has done a fairly good job of escaping the limits of a “leadership transition.”

The DP is striving to boost its support by meeting with the heads of civic groups and convening meetings of its executive committee in major regions across the country. Chung and major party officials meeting with the heads of civic groups, including the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, at Jogyesa Temple on August 21 and moving its August 22 executive committee meeting to Wonju, Gangwon Province, were all strategic moves.

Yoon cited four causes for the DP’s sluggish support. In a Friday telephone conversation with The Hankyoreh, he said the party has taken some of the responsibility for the National Assembly running idle as negotiations to form a parliament dragged out; with the power of the candlelight demonstrations diminishing, the favorable situation for the opposition party had ended; and with the focus so far being on internal consolidation, it has yet to really show the people it’s “presence.”

He said up till now, Chung’s administration has focused primarily on strengthening the base of the party. He believes that, with the party completing its internal consolidation, if it shows itself to the people as a “capable opposition party” in this regular parliament, its support problems will be solved.

Outside experts, however, are not so hopeful. KSOI research head Han Gwi-yeong said the party’s stagnating support numbers meant that those who supported the party in the general election had either withdrawn their support or given up their expectations. He cited as the causes of the party’s crisis turmoil over the party’s identity, lack of leadership and nationally-recognizable personalities, and its obsession with becoming an “alternative party.” Unlike Yoon’s self-diagnosis, this one hits at more fundamental limits.

Hwang In-sang, the head of the policy development team of political consulting firm P&C, said the biggest problem was that the party had not improved itself enough or, as an opposition party, provided a vision and policies that could gain the attention of the public. He said the party is not creating the momentum needed to recover the trust of its traditional base, which was disappointed by the Roh administration.

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