[News & Analysis] The Trap of the Opposition's 'Left-Wing Dictatorship' Slogan, a Regression to Old Political Norms

Conservative Party's Sweep in 2006 Local Elections in Seoul Metropolitan Area, Crushing Defeat in 2020 General Election... Ideological Slogans Undermine Hopes for Alternative Party

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] If you fail to read changes in public sentiment, you will not detect the 'election storm' even when it approaches. The scene of busily searching for causes only after the political foundation has been devastated is a consistent pattern of parties experiencing record defeats. The 4th simultaneous local elections held on May 31, 2006, is a case in point.

At that time, the Uri Party, which regarded the metropolitan area as its political stronghold, suffered a record defeat. It lost all 25 district mayoral elections in Seoul, all 10 district mayoral elections in Incheon, and produced only one winner in the 31 mayor and county head elections in Gyeonggi Province. In the election for 96 local district Seoul city councilors, the Grand National Party had all 96 candidates elected, while the Uri Party had zero winners.

The election in which 'conservative politics' swept the Seoul electorate, the Grand National Party capitalized on the momentum and succeeded in regaining power in 2007. At that time, President-elect Lee Myung-bak stated at a press conference with domestic and foreign reporters, "Now we must move beyond nation-building, industrialization, and democratization to modernization," and argued, "We must open an era where economic modernization and quality of life modernization go hand in hand." This passage reveals why the public chose the Grand National Party and what the people expected.

Hwang Kyo-ahn, leader of the United Future Party, is leaving the comprehensive vote counting situation room set up at the National Assembly on the 15th after announcing his intention to resign as party leader, taking responsibility for the election results. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Ahead of the 21st general election in 2020, the main opposition party put forward Hwang Kyo-ahn, a former public security prosecutor, as its leader. Contrary to his dignified image, Hwang maintained a bold confrontational stance. He showed determination through shaving his head and fasting, shouting slogans to overthrow the 'leftist dictatorship.' At a press conference on the 10th, when early voting for the general election began, Hwang claimed, "Only if I, Hwang Kyo-ahn, am elected in Jongno can we stop the fall of the Republic of Korea." While his will for power was evident, his proposals for improving the lives of the people were insufficient.

The strategy of confronting the government with ideological slogans is an outdated political formula that might have worked 20 years ago. The major trend throughout the 21st general election was not an ideological confrontation between left and right. It was an election where voters chose which political force to empower to protect themselves and their families amid the threat to life posed by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Park Sang-byeong, a visiting professor at Inha University Graduate School of Policy, pointed out the limitations of the strategy to attract centrist voters, saying, "Leader Hwang is a person accustomed to ideological confrontation terms, describing the Moon Jae-in government as socialist and leftist, and themselves as right-wing patriotic forces."

British politician Tony Blair, famous for the 'Third Way,' ended the Conservative Party's 18-year rule and ushered in the heyday of the Labour Party. Blair's strength was political flexibility. He boldly adopted and reflected the policies of the opposing party as needed. His choice, breaking away from the existing political practice obsessed with ideology, was the cause of heightened expectations for people's livelihoods and the economy.

Hwang Kyo-ahn, leader of the United Future Party, is greeting party members after watching the vote counting broadcast at the comprehensive vote counting situation room set up in the National Assembly on the 15th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

For the United Future Party, it is also important to keep alive the spark of belief that it is an alternative force responsible for people's livelihoods. The problem is that skeptical views about the 2022 presidential election are spreading. If the United Future Party fails to restore the belief that entrusting power to it will improve the lives of the people and provide a better future for children, the path to becoming a ruling party will inevitably be long and arduous.

There are limits to image transformations at the level of changing the party name and symbolic color, as was done when the Liberty Korea Party became the United Future Party. When the Uri Party's prospects for the 2007 presidential election darkened, it dissolved and was reborn as the Grand Unified Democratic New Party. The party's symbolic color changed to orange.

However, the presidential election ended in a record defeat with a gap of 5.3 million votes, and it took 10 years to regain power. This is why the United Future Party, which continues to suffer consecutive defeats in nationwide elections, must soberly diagnose the reality.

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