'Running in Difficult Districts' Where Is Hwang Kyo-ahn Heading... A Look at Past General Election Leaders of the Main Opposition Party

After Democratization, 8 General Elections... The Main Opposition Party Leader Ran in Their Constituency 3 Times

Hwang Kyo-ahn, leader of the Liberty Korea Party, suggested to the attendees to laugh together with a "Ha ha ha!" after receiving a 'Hahoe mask' as a gift from Lee Jong-seong, the 8th recruit and Secretary General of the Korea Disabled Association, at the welcoming ceremony for new recruits held at the Irum Center in Yeouido, Seoul on the 31st.
Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Jin-young Hwang] "A warm welcome. We will treat you with great enthusiasm." (Shin Kyung-min, Democratic Party of Korea, Yeongdeungpo-eul)

"I will prepare boldly and confidently for a showdown with Representative Hwang." (Hwang Hee, Democratic Party of Korea, Yangcheon-gap)

"Welcome. Please come quickly. The confrontation with Representative Hwang, a former public security prosecutor, is very exciting." (Jeong Chun-sook, Democratic Party of Korea, preparing to run in Yongin-byeong, Gyeonggi)

These are the reactions from Democratic Party candidates in the relevant areas as Hwang Kyo-ahn, leader of the Liberty Korea Party, is mentioned as a candidate for the 'tough districts' of Seoul Yeongdeungpo-eul and Yangcheon-gap in the April 15 general election.

As of the 1st, two months and fifteen days before the general election, Hwang's candidacy district has not been decided.

There are opinions within the party that Hwang should declare candidacy in Jongno to face former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon head-on, but since losing could severely hinder his presidential ambitions, he appears to be cautious in deciding his district.

Former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon is leading in various opinion polls as the top candidate for the next presidential election, making it difficult for Hwang to easily run in Jongno.

Accordingly, the Liberty Korea Party is narrowing down several districts for Hwang's candidacy and conducting opinion polls.

If Hwang runs in a district other than Jongno, it will be difficult to avoid criticism that he is avoiding a direct confrontation with Lee, so there is also speculation that he might shift to proportional representation.

Historical General Election Candidacy Status of Major Opposition Party Leaders

General Election	Major Opposition Party Leader (Election Result)	Remarks
13th	Kim Young-sam, Chairman of the Unification Democratic Party (Elected in Busan Seo-gu)	Ruling party minority (125 seats)
14th	Kim Dae-jung, Chairman of the Democratic Party (Elected as National Proportional Representative No. 1)	Ruling party (149 seats) failed majority
15th	Kim Dae-jung, Chairman of the New Politics National Conference (Lost as National Proportional Representative No. 14)	Ruling party (139 seats) failed majority
16th	Lee Hoi-chang, Chairman of the Grand National Party (Elected as Proportional Representative No. 1)	Opposition party 133 seats as the largest party, ruling party 115 seats
17th	Park Geun-hye, Supreme Council Member of the Grand National Party (Elected in Daegu Dalseong-gun)	Ruling party secured majority (152 seats)
18th	Son Hak-kyu, Leader of the United Democratic Party (Lost in Jongno)	Ruling party secured majority (153 seats)
19th	Han Myeong-sook, Supreme Council Member of the Democratic United Party (Elected as Proportional Representative No. 15)	Ruling party secured majority (152 seats)
20th	Kim Jong-in, Emergency Committee Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea (Elected as Proportional Representative No. 2)	Ruling party (122 seats) failed majority, opposition party (123 seats) largest party

Since democratization in 1987, in eight general elections (13th to 20th), the major opposition party leader ran in a district only three times: the 13th, 17th, and 18th general elections.

In the 13th general election, Kim Young-sam, chairman of the Unification Democratic Party, was elected in Busan Seo-gu and served eight terms.

However, the Unification Democratic Party won only 59 seats, while the Peace Democratic Party led by Kim Dae-jung won 70 seats to become the major opposition party.

At that time, Chairman Kim placed himself as No. 11 on the national proportional list as a strategic move to win over voters in Honam.

In the 17th general election, Park Geun-hye, Supreme Council Member of the Grand National Party, ran in Daegu Dalseong-gun, where she was re-elected, achieving a third term.

At that time, the Grand National Party won only 121 seats due to the backlash from impeachment.

In contrast, in the 18th general election, Son Hak-kyu, leader of the United Democratic Party, ran in Jongno but lost to Park Jin, the Grand National Party candidate.

Despite the conservative parties being split into the Liberty Forward Party (18 seats) and the Pro-Park Alliance (14 seats), the Grand National Party secured 153 seats, achieving a majority.

153 seats is the highest number of seats won by the ruling party since the 13th general election when the single-member district system was implemented.

Meanwhile, the United Democratic Party suffered a crushing defeat with only 81 seats.

Son resigned as party leader in July of the same year, taking responsibility for the election defeat, and retreated to Chuncheon, Gangwon Province.

In the other five general elections, the major opposition party leader ran as a proportional representative.

This was justified as leading the nationwide election as party leader.

In the 14th and 15th general elections, former President Kim Dae-jung, the major opposition party leader, ran as a national proportional candidate instead of a district candidate. He focused support on candidates running in the metropolitan area, successfully preventing the ruling party from securing a majority both times.

In the 14th general election, Kim was elected as the Democratic Party's national proportional representative No. 1, and in the 15th general election, he ran as the New Politics National Conference's national proportional representative No. 14 to make a last stand but failed to enter the National Assembly as only up to No. 13 were elected.

In the 16th general election, Lee Hoi-chang, chairman of the Grand National Party, also ran as proportional representative No. 1 to support candidates.

At that time, the Grand National Party secured 133 seats to become the largest party in the National Assembly, while the ruling Millennium Democratic Party won 115 seats.

In the 19th general election, Han Myeong-sook, Supreme Council Member of the Democratic United Party, gave up her district and ran as proportional representative No. 15 and was elected.

However, the Democratic United Party failed to prevent the ruling Saenuri Party from securing a majority.

In the 20th general election, the Democratic Party of Korea, the major opposition party, conducted the election under an emergency committee system.

About three months before the election, in January 2016, party leader Moon Jae-in resigned, and Kim Jong-in, the emergency committee leader who was entrusted with full party management, led the election from the candidate nomination stage.

Thanks to the ruling Saenuri Party's nomination turmoil, the Democratic Party won 123 seats, surpassing the Saenuri Party's 122 seats to become the largest party in the National Assembly.

Kim Jong-in, placed as proportional representative No. 2, achieved the rare record of being elected five times as a proportional representative (including national proportional).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.