[Opinion] The 'Path of the Opposition Party' That the Deobureo Minjudang Must Take

Now that it has become the opposition party, the Democratic Party of Korea needs to take the proper path of a genuine opposition. The defeat in the presidential election may not yet feel real, and with the political power of the ruling party still strong, the determination and aspirations as an opposition party may not be urgent. The Democratic Party must lead the way out of this stagnation vigorously, with pride in solidifying its political status as a prepared ruling-opposition party, thereby enhancing the political efficacy of its supporters and the level of Korean politics.

Maintaining a competitive ruling-opposition structure that allows the people to choose a change of government at any time is a minimum condition for democratic politics. In other words, there must always be an alternative opposition party in the political system. The political role of the opposition includes not only criticizing the government and drafting policies but also fundamentally presenting alternatives for regime change. To this end, the opposition must continuously seek to expand and diversify the political elite class to build a broad political base. It is urgent to create a party that the people want to rely on and to establish leadership that drives the ruling-opposition competition for regime change with that strength.

Looking at President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol’s transition committee, it seems that it will not be easy for the Democratic Party to act as the opposition. The opposition must take initiative, but seeing that the government organization law is being carried over unchanged contrary to election pledges, it appears that the Yoon administration is unlikely to set political goals and visions. Unlike the Roh Moo-hyun government’s local decentralization and government innovation, the Lee Myung-bak government’s Four Major Rivers Project, and the Moon Jae-in government’s income-led growth, it reminds one of the apolitical Park Geun-hye government.

When there is no issue-fighting, the opposition risks losing its political raison d'?tre. Especially at such times, great effort must be devoted to paving the “proper path of the opposition.” Since this presidential election defeat was more a judgment on the Moon Jae-in government and the Democratic Party regime than a choice for the opponent’s national development vision, it is necessary to take time for self-reflection and introspection and to examine the structural flaws of the Democratic Party that may recur at any time.

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The Democratic Party once suffered a triple hardship of anti-Honam regionalism, ideological narrowness due to opposition coalitions, and the closed nature of hegemonic factions. In past opposition coalition processes, the party members involved fell into political negotiations among themselves, neglecting and ignoring dialogue with voters. The Democratic Party’s crisis can be reproduced in regionalism and ideological narrowness. It must remember that national party status and securing solid centrist support are essential conditions for a ruling opposition party.

More frightening to the Democratic Party than any external threat is the closed factional politics within the party. This is the so-called confrontation between pro-Roh and anti-Roh, pro-Moon and anti-Moon factions. The ruthless mindset that it is enough for factions to survive even if the regime is lost must completely disappear. Factions may be a necessary premise in political parties. However, if competitive factions are the tonic of a party, hegemonic factions can be poison. The existence of hegemonic factions leads to closed party operations, blocks the participation of new political forces, and alienates the party from the people nationwide and across all classes.

The Democratic Party’s party convention, to be held after the March presidential defeat and the June local elections, is an important gateway to becoming a ruling opposition party. It is the first step to completely changing the party’s constitution by adapting to new changes without reproducing the Democratic Party’s long-standing ailments of regionalism, ideological narrowness, and factional closure. Just as changing a restaurant’s signboard without changing the chef does not last long, the Democratic Party, now the opposition, needs new people and ideas. The existence of a good opposition party is the barometer of a democratic advanced nation.

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

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