Can Korea’s conservative party find a way forward?

Kang Won-taek

 
The author is a professor of political science and international relations at Seoul National University.


 
A month has passed since Korea’s presidential election, and while the transition lacked a formal committee, the Lee Jae Myung administration is quickly finding its footing. Despite some early controversy, appointments to key cabinet posts and the presidential office have largely been seen as steady and competent. After months of political upheaval, many citizens appear to be regaining a sense of normalcy.
 

Former President Yoon Suk Yeol returns home in the early hours of June 29 after being questioned as a suspect by the special counsel team investigating the alleged insurrection case, at their office inside the Seoul High Prosecutors’ Office in Seocho District, Seoul. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

 
The same cannot be said for the People Power Party (PPP). Just weeks ago, it held the presidency. One might have expected vocal introspection and debate over the loss, yet the party remains unusually quiet. It seems to have resigned itself to its new role in opposition, slipping into it as if donning a familiar old coat.
 
Does the PPP genuinely believe it fought well despite the loss? A more honest reckoning is needed. The party has grown accustomed to defeat. Since 2016, it has failed to win any national election decisively. In the 20th National Assembly elections that year, the Saenuri Party lost 30 seats, falling from 152 to 122 and becoming the second-largest party. Four years later, its successor, the United Future Party, secured just 103 seats, while the Democratic Party (DP) won 180. In the 2024 general elections, the PPP managed only 108 seats compared to the DP's 175 — marking two consecutive landslide losses.
 
The 2017 presidential election was another setback. Combined, the votes for conservative candidates Hong Joon-pyo of the Liberty Korea Party and Yoo Seong-min of the Bareun Party barely surpassed 30 percent. The conservatives’ sole win came in the 2022 presidential race, but even then the margin was razor-thin — just 0.73 percentage points. The victory was less a show of strength than a result of public frustration with the Moon Jae-in administration’s housing policy. Taken together, the conservative bloc has recorded one draw and five losses since 2016.
 

Former President Park Geun-hye heads to the courtroom at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District on the morning of July 3, 2017, to stand trial on charges of colluding with unofficial confidante Choi Soon-sil to receive, demand, or promise bribes. [YONHAP]

 
In light of these results, can conservatives still claim to represent Korea’s political mainstream? More than half the country’s population resides in the greater Seoul area, yet the PPP remains entrenched in the traditional strongholds of Gangnam and the Daegu-North Gyeongsang region. Generationally, the party struggles to attract support from working-age voters in their 30s, 40s and 50s. Its base is increasingly limited to older Koreans, many of whom have retired from the workforce. Both geographically and demographically, the party appears detached from the current challenges facing Korean society.
 
The situation is further complicated by leadership failures. Two conservative presidents were removed from office during their terms, making it difficult for the party to credibly assert its competence in statecraft. Rather than leading national development, conservative politics now finds itself marginalized and viewed as out of step with the times.
 

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What led to this decline? One key factor is the erosion of core conservative values. Law and order, long pillars of conservatism, were undermined when the party defended a president who had violated both. While conservatism traditionally values flexibility, rationality and diversity, the party’s behavior during the impeachment crisis was marked by dogmatism and extremism. Instead of measured restraint, recent conservative politics has often felt erratic and impulsive.
 
More troubling is the absence of a will to change. Despite the string of defeats and two presidential impeachments, the conservative movement has yet to demonstrate serious introspection or reform. The warning signs have been visible for years, yet the party has largely continued with business as usual. Over the past decade, it has failed to build a forward-looking political vision. Rather than embarking on substantive innovation, it has focused on short-term survival.
 
Since 2010, the PPP and its predecessors have appointed 14 emergency leadership committee chairs. After ousting former chairman Lee Jun-seok in August 2022, the party has cycled through six interim leaders — Joo Ho-young, Chung Jin-suk, Han Dong-hoon, Hwang Woo-yea, Kwon Young-se and Kim Yong-tae. At this point, “emergency” leadership has become the norm. This is hardly the behavior of a party functioning as a credible alternative.
 

The People Power Party’s headquarters building in Yeouido, Seoul. [KIM SANG-SEON]

 
For conservative politics to regain relevance, incremental adjustments won’t suffice. The party needs to demolish its old foundations and rebuild from the ground up. Most urgently, it must undergo a generational shift. That means identifying and empowering younger political figures — not just current lawmakers like Kim Yong-tae and Kim Jae-seop, but also rising leaders outside the National Assembly — and fostering their political development.
 
The party must also define a modern, compelling conservative vision and establish a stable leadership structure. These changes will not come without resistance or pain, but there is little indication that the party understands the stakes. This may not yet be the lowest point for Korean conservatism — but unless it acts soon, that nadir may still be ahead.


Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.