Conservatives in shambles ahead of key election
Defendant in bribery trial is top contender of ex-ruling party
By Choi Ha-young
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Hong Joon-pyo
Yoo Seong-min
Conservative presidential contenders are struggling to woo voters as liberal contenders largely dominate the race to Cheong Wa Dae.
Their campaigns have drawn much less public attention. The strongest contender of the league at the moment is South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Hong Joon-pyo, whose approval ratings are hovering around 10 percent in opinion polls.
Hong, a member of the Liberty Korea Party (LKP), declared his bid immediately after an appeals court overturned his bribery conviction. His sharp tongue toward liberal contenders fascinated some conservative voters, but he has yet to do more than that.
While the Supreme Court is reviewing his bribery case, the outspoken governor is concentrating on a smear campaign against leading liberal contender Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK). Hong has repeatedly raised bribery allegations against Moon and his late friend, former President Roh Moo-hyun, without presenting any evidence.
If Hong is found guilty at the highest court, he may have to go to jail, instead of running for the presidency.
The future is uncertain for another prominent conservative contender, Rep. Yoo Seong-min from the Bareun Party, which was set up by former ruling party lawmakers who played a crucial role in ousting Park Geun-hye.
Yoo once said conservative voters would shift attention to him if the Constitutional Court upheld the impeachment, but it has turned out to be “wishful thinking.”
Yoo’s approval rating is only 1 percent, according to a Gallup Korea poll released Friday.
The poll suggests Park’s influence over conservative voters is still strong even after she was removed from power.
Yoo’s catchphrase, “Warm and Clean Conservatives,” and his exceptional welfare pledges failed to impress traditional conservative voters.
In the LKP, Rep. Kim Jin-tae, who has led the pro-Park street rallies, is rising as a dark horse. He is a star politician among those holding various flags ― Korean, American and even Israeli. Though the LKP has not expelled scandal-hit Park and her loyalists, the party has garnered over 10 percent support in opinion polls.
In sharp contrast to the ex-ruling party hailed by far-right senior citizens, the newly formed conservative Bareun Party’s popularity keeps budging. The party with 33 lawmakers stood at 4 percent support, which is lower than the tiny progressive Justice Party with 5 percent Friday.
Park is still major factor
“If Park completely accepted the ruling, the LKP and her loyalists would have lost power and the Bareun Party would have emerged, but she didn’t do so,” Kang Won-taek, political science professor at Seoul National University, told The Korea Times. “Centrists who are up in the air are supporting South Chungcheong Gov. An Hee-jung of the DPK,” Kang said.
Concerns are palpable within the Bareun Party, launched in January by those who broke away from the then Saenuri Party, predecessor of the LKP.
“Being afraid of dead votes, centrist voters are supporting stronger contenders like An or Ahn Cheol-soo of the People’s Party,” party spokesman Rep. Oh Shin-hwan told The Korea Times. “We are expecting the possible uptrend after Moon Jae-in becomes the nominee of the DPK, since some of An’s supporters will move to us.”
As many of its lawmakers admit in public, the minor conservative party has been incompetent in clarifying its reformist policy lines, missing the chance to differentiate from the LKP.
For example, in January, only nine of its lawmakers advocated election law revision to allow 18-year-olds to vote. Most of remained silent, along with then Saenuri Party lawmakers, drawing fire from liberals and youth rights groups.
Despite their reformist slogans to embrace social minorities, observers point out the party’s lack of action as well as ideological inadequacy.
“The new party should prove it can fully accept the democratic values and stand against Cold War-styled anti-communism, unlike the old conservatives,” said Park Sang-hoon, principal of the Political Power Plant, a grassroots organization dedicated to civic education. “But they haven’t done so.”
Park echoed Professor Kang’s view that the president’s ouster opened up room for rational conservatives. Outwardly, the old conservatives’ outdated ideology doesn’t seem sustainable, given their aging generation. However, if the new ones’ attempts fall apart, this will be an opportunity for ultra-right groups to expand their influence on the younger generation.
“If the new conservatives fail to speak for young conservatives’ passion, they will likely join the far-right party, like what’s happening in European countries,” Park said. “To prevent people from falling into hatred against immigrants, women and social minorities, we need democratic conservatives.”