Labor Party in Search of Survival Tips
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
A sociology professor advised the minor opposition Democratic Labor Party (DLP) Tuesday to aim for pragmatism and more realistic visions if it wants to survive under the current socio-economic circumstances.
``Social democracy thrived in Europe in the wake of World War II until the 1970s. Compared with Europe then, Korea is faced with an adverse environment which makes it difficult for the labor party to gain public support with its ideology,'' said Professor You Pal-moo of Hallym University.
Prof. You said relatively weak labor unionism, job instability caused by the increase in temporary workers after the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s and the preponderance of neo-liberalistic points of view in society were bad signs for the road ahead.
``In addition, Korea is a divided nation and the security factor plays a role in discouraging people from taking on the social democracy debate. It's hard to convince the public of social democracy under such negative circumstances,'' he said.
His observation came during a two-day seminar organized by the DLP on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of its founding.
DLP candidates garnered an average of 13.1 percent of votes in the National Assembly elections in April 2000. No DLP lawmakers were elected in the polls. Four years later, 10 DLP candidates were elected.
It was still a minor party, but its pulling 10 parliamentary seats together was considered something to celebrate, considering its relatively weak support base.
Its heyday didn't last long. The DLP failed to secure double-digit seats in the next elections mainly due to deepening internal factional division over its stance toward North Korea.
The party broke into two minor parties, a month before the April elections in 2008. The other progressive faction failed to gain a single seat.
Only five candidates won on the DLP's ticket, signaling a retreat of the progressive party.
The DLP is in a quest to regain public support in the June 2 local elections.
Prof. You recommended the DLP to give up its radical ideology and approach voters with realistic and pragmatic visions.
Meanwhile, Brazilian Senator Eduardo Suplicy emphasized that the values related to humanity, such as equity, ethics, participation and solidarity, were the key elements to achieve a civilized society.
The three-term senator was invited to the seminar to present lessons learned by the Brazilian Labor Party since its creation in 1980.
The Brazilian Labor Party is to celebrate its 30th anniversary next month.