[Editorial] Election Results and the Road Ahead

National Assembly by-elections in four districts have ended with complete defeat for the ruling Uri Party. The main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) achieved unity among conservatives with a tenacious ideological offensive, while Uri brought about the election results upon itself by inciting unnecessary political controversy with the "grand coalition" proposal and other ideas unrelated to the welfare of the people. The minority opposition Democratic Labor Party (DLP) failed at mediating the conflict between regular and irregular workers, and internal division at the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU, Minju Nochong) meant a division of its support base that resulted in defeat. Ultimately the GNP had an easy victory, not so much because it did a good job as because the other parties' mistakes.

There were elections in only four districts, but with local government elections coming next year the parties that lost can be expected to suffer negative aftereffects. There will be louder demands for a reorganization of party leadership at Uri because it has lost all 27 elections since its founding, and it is highly likely there will be calls for a reorganization of the political landscape, including merging with outside factions that have overlapping support bases. The DLP will not have an easy time either, as there will be calls for someone to accept responsibility for, among other things, an inadequate ability to tackle specific issues.

Meanwhile, each party needs to be more concerned about the low voter turnout than about victory and defeat. Voter turnout was 39.7 percent, 3.3 percent higher than the 36.4 percent recorded during the Assembly by-elections April 30. However, turnout for this latest by-election was less than expected when you compare it to the efforts of the Assembly's membership and the National Election Commission to have greater voter participation. The Assembly amended the Public Office Election Law to make it easier to vote by absentee ballot and it lowered the voting age to 19. The election commission extended voting hours until 8 p.m.

Victory and defeat means much less when 60 percent of voters either refused to vote or gave up on voting. It has to be viewed as a reprimand on the part of voters towards the politicians, who must regain the interest and affection of voters who have turned their backs towards them and do so by developing better policies and engaging in more productive politics in the wake of these by-elections.

The Hankyoreh, 28 October 2005.

[Translations by Seoul Selection]