Rep. Sohn Hak-kyu has withdrawn his offer to resign as chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party over the party’s failure to put up a candidate for the Oct. 26 mayoral by-election. He reversed his earlier decision at the request of the party’s lawmakers.
Indeed, his resignation would not solve the party’s problems, which came to the fore when it lost a contest for the candidacy to a union of progressive civic groups Monday. What he needs to do instead is to take steps toward the change the party must make if it wishes to avoid a similar mistake during the parliamentary and presidential elections next year.
It must have been mortifying to the opposition party when its nominee, Park Young-sun, was defeated in the race by Park Won-soon, who represented civic groups ― all the more so, given the vaunted tradition it has as a liberal force. Its main fault was its inability to connect with young liberals.
On the news that the party was busing its members that had been selected to an electoral college of 30,000 people to the poll, young liberals in their 20s and 30s turned out en masse to cast ballots for Park Won-soon. The party, which relied on its organizational strength for the race, was humbled by young liberals’ voluntary participation.
Park Won-soon’s win did not come as a surprise because he had led his opponent in opinion polls by a substantial margin before the opposition party and the civic groups started the complicated process of selecting a joint candidate ― via a TV debate, an opinion poll and a vote by the electoral college. That was the reason why the opposition party’s lawmakers advised that Rep. Sohn stay on as leader and pull it out of a crisis.
The ruling Grand National Party cannot afford to gloat over its rival’s misfortune. Schadenfreude is a luxury for the conservative party, whose candidate, Na Kyung-won, falls far behind Park Won-soon in opinion polls. Should it lose the mayoral race, its leader, Rep. Hong Joon-pyo, may feel pressured to resign.
Park’s surge in popularity is an indication that party politics is discredited in the eyes of voters. Both the ruling and opposition parties have much soul searching to do to win back their estranged supporters ahead of the next parliamentary and presidential elections. New political forces may emerge to replace them if they fail to connect again.
