[The Editors' Verdict] Resetting the Justice Party

Sim Sang-jung, the Justice Party candidate, has taken the extreme step of suspending her election campaign. It is a kind of reset, but politics is not a household appliance, so a temporary shock therapy does not revive its function. The current state of Sim Sang-jung and the Justice Party should be carefully examined, and a proper diagnosis and prescription must be made, especially when urgency calls for caution.

This presidential election signifies the disappearance of policy-based elections. The main party of left-wing and progressive policies, which has been armed with ideology and policies while distancing itself from populism, is showing its true colors. The loss of Sim Sang-jung’s presence is directly linked to the Justice Party’s identity and the fading of policy elections. Therefore, I would like to offer some advice for Sim Sang-jung’s political revival.

At some point in the Justice Party’s history, a phenomenon emerged where prominent figures, celebrities, and elites replaced policy and ideology. The emergence of outstanding superstars like Roh Hoe-chan and Sim Sang-jung was a clear blessing in the Korean context, where there was no institutional support for a third political force, and progressive politics succeeded in entering the National Assembly. However, joining parliamentary democracy resulted in an ambiguous political line of popularization as a celebrity party, which hindered the evolution of progressive politics. The party failed to see the real social minorities and was not faithful to the party’s ideology and policies even in the selection of proportional representatives.

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A representative example is the 21st general election proportional representation nomination process, where the focus on women’s issues led to a failure to properly grasp the entirety of social minorities. The party gave up the vanguard position to represent marginalized citizens from various sectors, including irregular workers. Besides the lack of representation of the weak, there was also considerable confusion in the Justice Party’s identity due to a mismatch between clear ideology and experience in terms of expertise. The ambiguous politics, policies, and responses have brought about the current situation of Sim Sang-jung and the Justice Party.

I recommend concentrating all party operating costs and sponsorships on progressive research organizations. Justice Party-style policy research must be completed during this presidential election period to meet the public’s expectations. Recruiting talent should still not be difficult if appeals are made to progressive experts’ sense of fulfillment and mission in joining a progressive party, rather than offering treatment and guaranteed positions. The party must not lose its way as a policy-leading party by being obsessed with approval ratings. There is no need to envy the high approval ratings of People Power Party candidate Yoon Seok-youl. It is merely a phenomenon arising from the momentum of regime change and can vary greatly depending on the temperature of that momentum.

Sim Sang-jung is fulfilling her role as a progressive politician by restoring the original spirit of the Justice Party, and the opportunity is always open. In the presidential election phase, her choices are to become president or to transform the Justice Party into a sustainable social democratic progressive party. When the progressive domain is firmly established, the coordinates for expanding the party’s scope become clear. The so-called progressive coalition with the broader ruling bloc is also a constant in living Korean politics, so Sim Sang-jung’s effective political action radius is wide.

This is a passage I found long ago in my master’s thesis on Korean social democracy parties: “...One of the main reasons why European political systems could enjoy political freedom and economic and social equality simultaneously, by blocking extreme left and right flows through a balance of conservatism and innovation, was the emergence of social democratic parties as the first parties. Considering this, the emergence of social democratic parties in the Korean party system can inject the necessary diversity of ideologies into the political process, enhancing political dynamism, and above all, by inducing policy-centered discussions, it can present the true face of party politics...”

Park Sang-chul, Professor, Graduate School of Political Studies, Kyonggi University

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