[Insight & Opinion] The Harm of Party Monopoly: Not Just a Problem for Daegu

Entrenched One-Party and Two-Party Monopoly Structures
Institutional Barriers to Competition Must Be Dismantled

"A single party monopolized power, eliminating competition and damaging politics. In the end, the absence of political competition led to Daegu's decline."

Former Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum made this diagnosis on March 30 last month when he announced his candidacy for Daegu mayor. The monopolization of politics through the absence of competition is not just an issue for Daegu. The single-party domination in Honam is even more entrenched. The duopoly of the two major parties in central politics is similar. These days, it often appears as if the Democratic Party is in a position of absolute dominance. Of course, the political landscape varies by region, and the momentum each party has for the June 3 local elections also differs. However, the harmful effects of a monopolistic system that has erased competitive party democracy are the same.

The regional structure of political parties in Korea can be traced back to the 1987 presidential election and the 1988 general election, when party politics became full-fledged. In particular, the three-party merger of 1990 set the archetype for today's regional party structure. Yeongnam, before democratization, was the home base of Korea's leading political forces. It became the core foundation of the Democratic Liberal Party—predecessor to the People Power Party—created through the three-party merger. The relationship between Honam and the Democratic Party is rooted in the historical legacy of the Gwangju Democratization Movement in the 1980s and the support for former President Kim Dae-jung.

The relationship between political forces and voters changes and reorganizes over time. Nevertheless, the regional monopoly structure of certain parties, established since the three-party merger, continues to this day. This polarized regional monopoly is a long-standing issue in Korean politics and has always been raised as both a reform challenge and a solution for national integration—commonly referred to as the "regionalism" problem. Recently, this issue has received less attention. One reason is the disappearance of a political focal point in Honam, which was one axis of the regionalism structure. While Honam remains the main support base for the Democratic Party, prominent politicians who rose with Honam's backing—such as Roh Moo-hyun, Ahn Cheol-soo, Moon Jae-in, Cho Kuk, and Lee Jae-myung—are actually from Yeongnam. Some interpret this as a "strategic choice," while others see it as "colonization."

In any case, the single-party monopoly structure has persisted. Korea's two-party privileged monopoly is the result of its combination with regionally distinct political legacies. There have been attempts to reorganize the system, though only occasionally. The United Liberal Democrats, which emerged in the 15th general election in 1996 with a base in Yeongnam and Chungcheong, and the People's Party, which made a splash in Honam during the 20th general election in 2016, are notable examples. However, they failed to overcome the barrier of the two-party monopoly and remained short-lived, eventually reverting back to the dominance of the two major parties.

Party democracy is based on the democratic dynamism that allows parties trusted by voters to succeed, failed parties to be ousted, and new forces to emerge. However, the current election law and the Political Parties Act grant various privileges to the major established parties, institutionally protecting the two-party monopoly. The central party duopoly, when combined with regionalism, creates a single-party monopoly in each region. This is why the harmful effects of the two-party monopoly directly translate into the harmful effects of regional single-party monopolies.

When the democratic dynamism of party competition disappears, established parties become privileged cartels, and politicians are reduced to cartel members. Former Prime Minister Kim believes that the degeneration of politics has ultimately led to regional decline. Similar concerns are voiced in Honam and Gwangju. There are even questions about whether the single-party monopoly in Honam, which touts its democratization movement as an asset, is truly democratic. Regional political tendencies are up to the voters in those regions. However, the institutional foundation of undemocratic monopoly systems that block competition must be dismantled. Depending on the support for monopolistic parties and the individual capabilities of candidates in the June 3 local elections, cracks may form in these regional monopolies. Nonetheless, fundamental institutional reforms are needed—such as abolishing Article 150 of the Public Official Election Act, which establishes a candidate numbering system and gives privileges to major parties, thereby blocking fair competition.

Kim Manheum, former Director of the National Assembly Research Service

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