Saenuri’s reform efforts seem to have gained positive response


The Saenuri Party’s surprise victory in Wednesday’s general election indicates that voters still have doubts about whether the main opposition Democratic United Party could become a viable political alternative, analysts said Thursday.

Despite the prevailing expectation that the DUP, allied with a far-left minority party, could gain a parliamentary majority while riding on anti-incumbent sentiment, it failed to turn the political tide due to its flip-flops on high-profile issues such as the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, they said.

But allowing the liberal party to bag 127 seats including 21 by proportional representation, voters apparently conveyed a tacit, yet strong message that they will continue to watch the rival parties until their final decision in the presidential poll in December.

The ruling party gained 152 seats including 25 by proportional representation ― a thin majority in the 300-seat National Assembly.

“The DUP apparently failed to gain voter trust as an alternative, leading party that can manage state affairs. After its alliance with the Unified Progressive Party, it moved toward the extreme left, which made voters, particularly centrist ones, doubt their political capability and take caution,” said Park Hyo-chong, ethics education professor at Seoul National University.

“Voters might have felt that the DUP was not reliable enough to take parliamentary control while it calls for binging back to the drawing board major national projects including the Korea-U.S. FTA.”

In the run-up to the general elections, the FTA with the United States and the construction of a strategic naval base on Jeju were key issues that have sharply divided the public across the ideological spectrum.

The DUP has been under fire for its opposition to the two projects, which it initiated while it was the governing party under the former Roh Moo-hyun administration. Its call for a renegotiation of the FTA has caused concerns that it could damage Korea’s national credibility.

“In the beginning, the tea leaves obviously favored the DUP on the back of the strong mood against the ruling bloc as voters wanted to deliver their judgment on it. But its reversal of earlier remarks and other mistakes it made during the candidate nomination process hurt voter trust,” said Yoon Pyung-joong, political philosophy professor at Hanshin University.

Some experts pointed out that the DUP failed to overcome deep-seated regionalism. In the elections, the Saenuri swept seats in its strongholds of Busan, Daegu and Gyeongsang Provinces while the DUP performed well in Seoul and the surrounding areas.

“Political regionalism was a strong factor in the elections. In the provinces, Saenuri leader Park Geun-hye’s influence was strong, in part due to many older voters who have a lingering nostalgia for her father, former President Park Chung-hee,” said Jung Hae-gu, politics professor at Sungkonghoe University.

Jung added that complacency was palpable in the DUP with many saying that it is likely to win in the elections on the back of anti-incumbent sentiment.

“While the Saenuri worked hard to fend off the fallout from worsening sentiment against the president, the DUP appears to be self-complacent, believing that it would naturally win. It should have taken stern measures when a series of setbacks such as controversy over past vulgar remarks by its candidate,” he said.

Above all, what appealed much to the voters was the Saenuri Party’s reform drive that came from its strong sense of crisis in the wake of a spate of explosive scandals involving its key members and associates of President Lee Myung-bak.

It changed its name from the Grand National Party in February and has made some policy changes to shed its image as a party favoring the upper echelon. Its hard-core supporters, however, criticized it for moving “leftward” with its new pledges on welfare and economic democratization ― major issues long dominated by the liberal camp.

“With the change of its official name and logo and through its policy changes, the Saenuri showed a strong will for reform and change. Voters apparently responded positively to that,” said Yoon of Hanshin University.

Park of SNU said, “Rather than delivering their judgment on the ruling bloc, voters expressed their expectation for the Saenuri’s future.”

Given that the ruling party gained a thin majority, analysts presumed that partisan confrontation over controversial issues including the FTA with Washington may deepen.

“The opposition lost, but still has a considerable number of seats. Thus partisan conflict could deepen over various issues including the government’s alleged illicit surveillance of civilians,” said Jung of Sungkonghoe University.

By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)