[The Editors' Verdict] Theory of a Unified Government vs. Theory of Regime Change

The final structure of the 20th presidential election is Lee Jae-myung's theory of a unified government versus Yoon Seok-youl's theory of regime change. The key to winning the presidential election will be who secures the legitimacy of the agenda first. Yoon Seok-youl's theory of regime change must provide an answer to what will be done after the regime change, while Lee Jae-myung's theory of a unified government, which is appearing for the first time in Korean politics, must show concrete solutions and trust regarding how it will be formed.

Regrettably, the theories of regime change and unified government are highly likely to be used as election tactics. Especially in the case of the regime change theory, so far, the focus has been solely on regime change through unification methods rather than on why the regime change is necessary. The purpose of regime change has been ignored, with attention only on the means. It is urgent to focus on why regime change is needed and what will be fixed.

The theory of a unified government cannot establish itself as a national election agenda if it is used merely as an image slogan or to lure votes from third or fourth place competitors. If the ruling party, as a major governing force, offers significant political concessions and a practical plan for a unified government, the theory of a unified government will serve as the only solution capable of overcoming the wave of regime change. The unified government theory, which breaks down the ‘fighting politics’ and ‘divisive politics’ that the people have longed to end, could be the greatest political reform in the history of Korean constitutional governance.

Sangcheol Park, Professor at the Graduate School of Political Studies, Kyonggi University

The theory of a unified government has historical roots. Korean democracy was sprouting anew following the Candlelight Revolution in the fall of 2016. The Candlelight Revolution was not merely a victory for progressives but a nationwide, citizen-led political decision. At that point, Korean democracy was demanding a transition from a majority-rule democracy based on confrontation between two major camps to a national integration-oriented multi-party consultative democracy.

In the 19th early presidential election, the leading candidate Moon Jae-in also prominently pledged a unified government. However, the Moon Jae-in administration, which launched without a transition committee, failed to eliminate the problems inherent in the Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations. The simple physical combination of the existing Park Geun-hye administrative system and the Moon Jae-in camp without a change to a unified government meant that the power in the Blue House merely shifted or replaced from the conservative to the progressive camp. To the public, the Blue House and the government of the Republic of Korea appeared to belong not to the people but only to the Moon Jae-in camp members. At that time, the unified government pledge was merely an election slogan to highlight the candidate’s image, not a substantive reality.

Yoon Seok-youl’s regime change will gain strength when the conservative opposition effectively unites as a whole and presents a clear future vision. It is extremely risky to easily expect a repeat of the victories in the Seoul and Busan mayoral by-elections on April 7 last year. At that time, the political condition of the Moon Jae-in government and the Democratic Party of Korea was at its worst. Yoon Seok-youl’s political scope and spectrum are much more conservative and combative than the existing People Power Party, which is a major blind spot limiting the expansion of regime change.

In this presidential election, the people are demanding the ability to solve livelihood issues and the power to break the chronic extreme confrontation and conflict in Korean politics. Which will the people choose: the theory of a unified government, reintroduced as a repeat candidate by Lee Jae-myung, or the theory of regime change, which Yoon Seok-youl has demonstrated tremendous strength with so far? It remains to be seen.

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