PPP attributes general election defeat to unstable party-gov't relations: white paper

Rep. Cho Jung-hun, chair of the ruling People Power Party's (PPP) 22nd General Elections White Paper Task Force, speaks during a meeting held at the National Assembly in Seoul, Aug. 14. Yonhap

The People Power Party (PPP) identified an unstable relationship between the ruling party and the government as a key factor in its major defeat in the 22nd general elections, according to its white paper released on Monday.

The white paper, which outlines the causes and accountability for the conservative ruling party's loss in the general elections held in April, stated that the PPP was heavily influenced by negative public evaluations of the government's performance, given its political unity with the administration at the time.

"The party failed to respond adequately to various controversies that sparked strong criticism of the government, such as suspicions surrounding first lady Kim Keon Hee’s luxury handbag gift and the medical school quota policy,” the report stated.

The first issue involves the first lady's acceptance of a luxury handbag from a Korean American pastor, while the second involves the Yoon Suk Yeol administration's efforts to increase medical school enrollment quotas to address a healthcare workforce shortage, especially in underserved areas. Doctors oppose the plan, because they fear it will compromise the quality of education, lead to job saturation and lower salaries.

"Rather than taking an opposing and distanced stance on these controversial issues, the party appeared to align closely with the government’s perspectives, preventing a healthy and productive tension from developing between the party and the administration."

The PPP won only 108 seats in the 300-seat National Assembly, ceding a majority to the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea which won 173 seats.

The paper also highlighted the party’s flawed nomination system as another core reason for the election defeat.

Regarding the “systematic nomination process” promoted by Han Dong-hoon, current leader of the party and then-emergency committee chair, the report criticized that “the party had a limited pool of candidates, and the nomination criteria set right before the general elections were not convincing for many to accept.”

The report also pointed out the lack of full adherence to systematic nomination principles and rules.

In addition, the white paper identified other factors contributing to the defeat, including a lack of decisive strategy, ineffective promotional content, the absence of a clear party philosophy and vision and the inadequate performance of the party's think tank.

The report, published about 200 days after the national elections, is organized into several chapters, first starting with the analysis on the causes of the defeat. It is followed by other chapters that deal with proposals for the party's key reform agendas, assessment from party subcommittees across various areas of the party strategies, ranging from nominations, pledges, organization, publicity and more. The chapter dedicated to the feedback from regional candidates and youth forums is also included in the book.

The conservative ruling party's special committee on the white paper concluded its activity on Monday, as it submitted and reported its findings to the party leadership at the Supreme Council meeting earlier in the day.