I am an editorial writer at The Korea Times, focusing on foreign policy, North Korea and domestic politics. My key areas of interest include North Korea, foreign interference in elections, election integrity, cyberattacks and human rights. Prior to joining the Editorial Board, I served as both Politics Desk editor and Culture Desk editor. During my career, I have reported on the Presidential Office under the Lee Myung-bak administration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Assembly.
Cult-like supporters emerge as headache for political parties
A string of wreaths are laid along the fence of the National Assembly in Seoul on Tuesday to commemorate Rep. Lee Jae-myung as he began his first day as a lawmaker after winning the June 1 by-election in Incheon's Gyeyang B District. Some of the wreaths were sent by his diehard supporters. Yonhap
By Kang Hyun-kyung
'Fandom' in politics is double-edged sword that can make or break politicians' careers
By Kang Hyun-kyung
On Tuesday, the fence of the National Assembly building was decorated with flowers. A string of wreaths was placed along the fence all the way to the front gate. Under each wreath was a ribbon on which a short congratulatory message for Rep. Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) was written regarding his recent election win and successful return to politics as a lawmaker.
Most of the senders are his most resolute supporters, better known in the media by the Korean portmanteau, “gae-ttal,” meaning “daughters of reform” in English. Women in their 20s and 30s make up the majority of Lee's fervent supporters. The second part of the term changes depending on these supporters' age groups. For instance, female Lee supporters in their 40s and 50s are called “gae-imo” or “aunts of reform,” and those who are in their 60s or older are referred to as “gae-halmeoni” or “grandmas of reform.”
Tuesday was Lee's first day as a lawmaker since he won the June 1 by-election in Incheon's Gyeyang B District. The string of wreaths placed along the National Assembly fence showed his fans' collective expression of a warm welcome for their favorite politician, Lee, and their wishes for a fresh restart for him in politics as a new lawmaker.
“As a representative of the residents of my electoral district, I will do everything to fulfill my duty as a lawmaker,” Lee told reporters.
Rep. Lee is one of the few politicians who have such fans. Former Presidents Moon Jae-in, Park Geun-hye and Roh Moo-hyun are three of the country's most renowned politicians who currently have or have had such fervent fans. Unlike other supporters who freely give and then withdraw their support for particular politicians as they see fit, fans in Korean politics are stalwart supporters and their backing for certain politicians rarely changes.
“Fanatic supporters identify themselves as alter egos of certain politicians they support,” Yoo Seong-jin, a professor of political science at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, said. “Unlike most other supporters, the hardcore supporters can't stand if and when their favorite politicians are criticized or under attack by others. They take it personally. They take such criticism as an attack against themselves.”
It seems that Rep. Lee enjoys fan-like support, the political scientist went on to say. But he said it's not certain how many of his supporters are hardcore supporters and to what extent they exert any influence in politics.
“Former President Moon, for example, enjoyed fan-like support throughout his presidency, as you can see when you look at his support rates,” said Yoo. “His approval rating was in the mid-40-percent range later in his presidency, which was higher than those of other presidents. His steady ratings that continued until the end of his presidency owe something to his fan base.”
Rep. Lee Jae-myung of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea receives a bouquet of flowers from a supporter on his first day as a lawmaker outside the National Assembly, Tuesday. Yonhap
Cult-like supporters have emerged as a fresh headache to politicians as a potentially dysfunctional side effect of politics.
For politicians, their hardcore bases can be a double-edged sword. They can make or break a politician's career. Politicians and political parties need stalwart supporters to survive and win elections. In this regard, having these type of fans helps them. At the same time, however, such diehard supporters are risky, as politicians or political parties relying on a relatively small group of blind supporters can create problems.
Former DPK interim co-leader Park Ji-hyun said that the party can sometimes get swayed away from public sentiment by the voices of a minority of diehard supporters, as well as neglect the opportunity to reflect on its mistakes.
“I had never thought that fandom would do a disservice to the party. But it did. After joining the DPK, I came to experience the problems of fandom in person. A small number of people dominated the party's key decisions,” she said in a media interview.
Park drew the wrath of hardcore DPK supporters after she openly criticized them for having misled the party. During a news conference on May 24, eight days before the June 1 local elections, she blamed “fandom-based politics” and vowed to reestablish the DPK as the party for the masses, not the one for a small group of blind supporters.
“We won't be locked in by blind supporters. The DPK will be born again as a party for all,” she said. “We will do that by making the DPK a party for the public, not one based on fandom.”
At that point, she was making the remarks to turn the tide, as polls showed that the chances for the DPK to win overall in the local elections were unlikely.
Shortly after her news conference, the message board of the DPK's website was flooded with comments critical of her. Many of those comments demanded that she quit the party's leadership. The online cafe, “Jae-myung's Village,” many members of which are Lee's stalwart supporters, was also full of messages critical of Park. Some wrote that Park is a divisive figure and that what she did was like a suicide bomber whose actions kill her own party, rather than attack the enemy.
Park indeed did quit after the DPK faced an overall crushing defeat in the June 1 local and by-elections. Her departure from politics signifies that her three-month political experiment as its first 26-year-old female co-chairperson failed in the face of the grim reality that the party relied much on its die-hard supporters.