I spent two months in the U.S. in 2010. I was quite surprised to find that mass media were carrying reports and debates on the deep political polarization between conservatives and the liberals almost every day. 

There was also a movement to reconcile the two forces, called “No Left. No Right. Forward.” However, the divisive trend has continued, as the ideological division among the presidential candidates within and between the Democratic and Republican Parties shows.

South Korean politics has been suffering from the same kind of polarization. Just as the Republican Party opposes any legislation and policy measures promoted by the Democratic government, so does the New Politics Alliance for Democracy (the opposition party) oppose whatever the government and the governing Saenuri Party try to do. Third party movements have risen and fallen, and these days a new third party movement is being promoted by a faction within the opposition.

All states, regardless of their political systems, perform basically the same functions: national security, economic prosperity, wealth distribution, social welfare and the role of the government in these fields. The U.S. political system is a presidential system based on the division of powers. South Korea has the same type of political system.

The basic difference between the presidential and parliamentary systems is that in the former, the head of the executive body is the head of state and exercises stronger power than the legislative and judicial branches in reality. In the cabinet system it is very difficult for the head of government to exercise the same degree of power. Moreover, the presidential term is fixed, while that of the prime minister in the cabinet system is not.

All the Western European countries except France are based on the cabinet system and, in many cases, the cabinet is formed by a coalition of parties. In contrast, under a presidential system, the president is in complete control of the executive branch. In view of these differences, it is not difficult to see why two-party politics is more prevalent under presidential systems than parliamentary system, where multiparty politics is more common. This is the main reason major political parties in the presidential system engage in a cutthroat struggle with each other to occupy the presidency, while minor parties are helpless.

Another reason American and South Korean politics are becoming more polarized is that the conservative and liberal parties in both countries have almost diametrically opposed views and advocate quite different policies in the above-mentioned fields. The Korean and American conservatives on the one hand and the Korean and American liberals on the other take similar positions on economic prosperity, wealth distribution, social welfare and the role of the government. Only in the security field do they differ.

America’s main security interest is global, whereas South Korea’s main security concerns are regional and inter-Korean relations. Therefore, their security strategies are bound to be different. The Korean conservatives and the liberals are divided on how to deal with North Korea.

One noteworthy phenomenon is that in both countries the number of swing voters is increasing. In South Korea, approximately 31 percent of the people were conservatives, 29 percent liberals and 35 percent were in the middle in 2010, while their percentages changed to 29, 21 and 47 respectively in 2015.

A similar phenomenon has happened in America: Less than 30 percent of voters identify themselves with the Republican Party and less than 30 percent with the Democratic Party, while more than 40 percent see themselves as unaligned. Another similarity is that in both countries the sizes of the middle classes have decreased recently and the people in the middle class have become more distrustful of both the conservative and liberal parties, becoming independent or apolitical.

This phenomenon is closely related to the fact that the people of the middle class in both countries are more distrustful of their respective governments than people of the upper and lower class. It does not necessarily mean that the upper and lower class peoples in both countries are trustful of their respective governments.

Overall, voters in both countries have become more distrustful of their respective governments, including the executive and the legislative bodies. According to a 2015 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development survey, only 35 percent of Americans and 34 percent of Koreans have confidence in their governments.

Under the circumstances, the two-party system is becoming less and less democratic in both countries. But it is not likely to disappear soon, mainly because a third party, whether moderate or radical, can hardly win the presidential or legislative elections.

There is a big gap between the electorate and the political community. Middle class supporters of moderate policies are becoming more and more apolitical because no major parties reflect their views, the upper class supports the conservative party and the lower class people switch their party allegiance depending on the issue concerned.

Radicalism, communism and socialism are taboos for people in both countries. In South Korea a pro-North Korea radical movement exists, but the absolute majority of voters oppose it.

Another cause of political bipolarization can be found in the polarization of people’s perceptions. In an age of material abundance and popularization of information technology, people can access limitless information. They interpret information in their own ways and form their views based on their own interpretations.

In the mass information age people have become the publishers, editors and reporters of news media. Under the circumstances, they have confidence in their own perception and views. Through social media, they exchange views with other people, but they tend to be people who share similar views.

Humans tend to associate themselves with other people with the same or similar beliefs. As scientists have found, social media accelerates the contact and communication between like-minded people and discourages contact between those with different beliefs.

The most effective and lasting solution to political polarization is that people should recognize the fact that a person’s views and support of political issues are determined by his or her perception of the issues and beliefs, not based on any absolute truth.

People should realize that in human relations there is no absolute truth. The truth is that in politics there is no absolute truth. Democracy, in a sense, is the process of compromise.

By Park Sang-seek

Park Sang-seek is a former rector of the Graduate Institute of Peace Studies at Kyung Hee University and the author of “Globalized Korea and Localized Globe.” — Ed.