Is It Practicality or Legitimacy? The Democratic Party's 'Satellite Party' Dilemma

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] Despite repeated denials from the leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea, calls for the creation of a satellite party for proportional representation continue to emerge both inside and outside the party.

On the 25th, Koh Han-seok, former deputy director of the Democratic Research Institute, proposed on his Facebook, "Recently, the Youth Committee was renamed the Youth Party. We have established several subcommittees at the central level and are reorganizing each provincial party's Youth Committee into a provincial Youth Party," suggesting that the Youth Party be operated as an independent political party.

He argued, "To register the Youth Party as an independent party, 5 provincial parties each need at least 1,000 members, totaling 5,000 members. Using the current framework, registration can be completed quickly," adding, "If all youth recruited talents join the Youth Democratic Party and run as proportional representation candidates, it could be Korea's first youth primary election to attract significant public interest."

Following Yoon Gun-young, former Blue House National Situation Room chief, and independent lawmaker Son Hye-won, who ignited the idea of creating a 'satellite party,' even former key think tank figures from the party have come forward with concrete plans for the party's establishment.

Interview_Yoon Geon-young, Former Chief of the Blue House National Situation Room./Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

In response, Jang Kyung-tae, head of the Democratic Party's Youth Committee, stated in a radio interview on the 26th, "Although the nationwide Youth Committee was reorganized into the nationwide Youth Party within the party, there has been no discussion about creating or reorganizing it into the 'Youth Democratic Party,'" dismissing the idea of using the Youth Party for proportional representation purposes.

However, he left some room by saying, "I believe various opinions regarding the creation of a satellite party may emerge. These processes are beyond our control or management."

The call for the creation of a satellite party within the ruling party stems from a sense of crisis that the party might lose its status as the largest party to the United Future Party. Recent polls show relatively high support for the United Future Party's sister party, the Future Korea Party, leading to projections that it could secure more than 20 seats solely through proportional representation.

Moreover, with concerns that the COVID-19 pandemic might negatively impact the ruling party in the general election, the argument for establishing a satellite party to secure seats is gaining momentum within the party. Considering the candidate registration period for the general election, there is even a concrete scenario that the satellite party creation process will begin soon, targeting the 16th of next month.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The issue lies in justification. The Democratic Party passed the Public Official Election Act amendment, centered on the semi-proportional representation system, after enduring the unprecedented violent 'fast-track incident' in the National Assembly. If the party directly initiates or neglects the satellite party creation movement brewing outside, it would undermine the amendment's intent, such as 'equivalence of votes' and 'opportunities for small parties to expand seats.'

It is evident that this would invite criticism not only from the United Future Party but also from former allies like the Justice Party and the Minsheng Party. In fact, Park Ji-won, a Minsheng Party lawmaker, criticized, "Creating a satellite party at this point is inappropriate for the ruling party. There is no justification. How can they persuade the public?"

Some voices call for the Democratic Party leadership to make a decision one way or another. If they do not quell the satellite party creation through persuasion, it could be interpreted as an 'OK' sign. Previously, Lee In-young, the Democratic Party floor leader, described the satellite party creation movement as a 'righteous army,' which led to misunderstandings that the party was turning a blind eye to the creation.

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