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[4th EAI Academy] ② The Current State and Reform Measures of Korean Party Politics
Editor's Note
Professor Yoon Wang-hee of the Seoul National University Institute for Korean Political Studies points out that the trend of internal party politicization that has occurred in Korean political parties since the early 2000s has led to the hollowing out of party organizations such as district chapters and fundraising committees, and the rise of personality-centered politics where policy is lost. He also criticizes that in terms of the party system, new parties are needed to fill the areas not represented by the two-party system, but the current Political Parties Act and other regulations act as hurdles to party establishment, ultimately solidifying the cartel of the two major parties. Furthermore, he emphasizes the importance of party reform, which is a prerequisite for political reforms such as constitutional amendment and electoral system reform, and advocates for the necessity of local parties as resident self-governing parties that can realize alternative proposals in the practical areas of residents' lives. He further suggests that local parties can also serve as "startup parties for youth," and proposes an alternative where youth can demonstrate their achievements through local parties and establish themselves as agents of politics, thereby bringing about changes in the party system. In the supplementary lecture, he points out the problems of the current party nomination system, including the undemocratic decision-making power of the leadership, limited participation, and insufficient deliberation due to time constraints. He diagnoses that reforms cannot be achieved by merely expanding the nomination rights of party members without institutional improvements to allow for continuous vetting of candidates. He then proposes a desirable nomination reform measure: the institutionalization of a three-stage nomination process where the central party, provincial chapters, and party member associations share roles.
YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIak8Yf_5Vg
Video Transcript
In order for each week to participate equally, I believe a method involving multiple stages is necessary, rather than the current one-time completion method. Although various stages are currently set to be modified, they are either formal stages or not necessarily mandatory multi-stage processes. Therefore, I believe that political parties should first have the ability to perform a gatekeeping role by constantly evaluating whether their candidates possess the qualifications to be members of parliament in the relevant constituencies. This should be done by the central party with uniform standards.
This is not a matter of excluding individuals with a history of corruption to specifically cut off certain individuals, but rather a committee that constantly evaluates the political qualifications of these individuals through actual discussions, performance evaluations, or long-term assessments. Only those evaluated by this committee should be able to proceed to the next stage. Therefore, these evaluations should not be rushed, as they are now, less than a month before the general election, but should be a continuous process. After that, I believe that provincial chapters should narrow down the candidates for the primary election from among the delegates.
Once individuals whose qualifications have been verified can apply for the primary election, the central party should not decide who to include among the primary candidates. Instead, the provincial chapters, whose delegates have a certain degree of knowledge about the candidates in their respective provinces, should narrow down the candidates for the primary election. Then, further down, the party members in the constituency party organizations or regional committees should decide the final candidate through a meeting, such as a party member assembly or an online gathering. I believe this is the way it should be done.
However, people keep talking about systematic nominations, but if the party is not systematically organized, nominations alone cannot be systematic. In the current situation, it is likely to be difficult to see any new changes in the upcoming general election, and it seems that the order will remain the same, with superficial changes and a diversion of attention. I believe that fundamental improvements in direction and continuous efforts over a sufficient period of time are necessary to establish them.
*This text is an AI translation of an original written in Korean. Some translations or nuances may be inaccurate.