Korean poll result draws mixed reaction from Asian media
By Choi Sung-jin
Major Asian media outlets wired the news of parliamentary elections in Korea Wednesday, which turned the governing party into a minority group for the first time in 16 years.
Commenting on the ruling camp’s loss of its largest-party status, foreign news agencies made a common analysis that the prolonged business slump of the past eight years under the governance of two conservative administrations has disappointed voters, forcing them to shift their support to the political opposition.
There were subtle differences between Japanese and Chinese media, however, about the effects the election results will have on Seoul’s diplomatic policy.
The Nihon Keizai Shimbun expressed concerns that President Park Geun-hye’s “diplomacy of principles” would meet a massive headwind, which might pose obstacles to the implementation of a bilateral agreement to resolve the wartime sexual slavery issue, as well as President Park’s hard-line stance against North Korea.
“The election results will inevitably reduce the political influence of President Park for about two years, until the end of her tenure,” the Japanese financial daily said. “The President is stressing that Seoul would carry out the ‘comfort-woman’ agreement reached late last year in disregard of the election outcome, but her opponents’ influence will become far stronger than before.” The newspaper predicted the policy drive of Korea’s governing party will sharply weaken.
The right-wing Sankei Shimbun said the parliamentary election was a referendum of President Park’s first three years in office, as well as the skirmish for the presidential election next year. “Because of the crushing defeat, the Park administration will not be able to maintain its influence toward the end of its tenure,” it said.
The Chunichi Shimbun analyzed that the Saenuri, which had appeared to enjoy advantages because of splits in the opposition camp, not just suffered a total rout in Seoul and surrounding Gyeonggi Province, but also took a drubbing in its traditional support base of the Gyeongsang provinces. “The Park administration will experience difficulties in managing state affairs in the next two years,” it said.
Analyzing the causes of the ruling party’s defeat, Nihon Keizai also said: “The internal feud over candidate nomination dismayed supporters,” adding that low economic growth during eight years of conservative rule also affected the vote adversely.
Sankei agreed. “Confrontation between pro-Park and anti-Park factions within the Saenuri rose to the surface,” it said. “Voters made a stern judgment over the pro-Park group bent on strengthening factional power.”
China’s Xinhua News Agency forecast President Park will experience difficulties pushing ahead with her economic reforms because of her party’s failure to win a majority of seats.
“Aside from independent members, the opposition camp emerged as the majority force by winning 167 seats in total,” the state news agency said. “Saenuri failed to carry even a third of precincts in the Seoul metropolitan area, and lost 17 out of 65 electorates in its strong ground of the Gyeongsang region.”
The South China Morning Post said popular discontent with economic policies overwhelmed national security issues, including North Korea’s nuclear provocations, in this election, noting that Korean politics has a structure in which conservative parties benefit if inter-Korean tension rises.
“Prior to the election, political watchers had expected voters would cast their ballots to President Park’s conservative party to buttress her economic reforms, but the forecast went wide of the mark from exit polls,” it said. “The election result is expected not only to put a brake on President Park’s economic reform plans but also to exert great influence on next year’s presidential election.”
The Hong Kong-based English daily also described in detail how the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea ushered in Professor Kim Jong-in, economic adviser to Park in the 2012 election, and how it “absorbed the supporters of the Saenuri Party successfully.”
Noting that people’s criticism of Park’s economic policies in this election prevailed over North Korea’s nuclear test and missile launch, SCMP said: “In Korea, household debt is snowballing and youth unemployment is soaring to a record-high level.”