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Lee Jae-myung must dispel fears of absolute power

Published: 28 Apr. 2025, 00:03

Choi Hoon

The author is the senior columnist at the JoongAng Ilbo.

If the presidential election were held tomorrow, all indicators suggest that Lee Jae-myung would likely win. A Gallup Korea survey conducted three days ago showed Lee, the Democratic Party’s (DP) presidential candidate, defeating each of the four major People Power Party candidates — Kim Moon-soo, Ahn Cheol-soo, Han Dong-hoon and Hong Joon-pyo — by margins exceeding 52 percent, ranging from 52 to 56 percent. Even against acting President Han Duck-soo, Lee holds a commanding lead of 53 percent to 38 percent. A Realmeter poll conducted last week similarly found that 59.9 percent of respondents hoped for a change in administration, far outpacing the 34.3 percent who preferred the continuation of the current government.

Thirty-six days remain until the June 3 election — an eternity in political terms. Given the likelihood of unexpected variables, premature conclusions would be unwise. From the PPP’s perspective, it would require a near-perfect alignment of factors to make the contest competitive: a voluntary pledge to shorten the presidential term, unification of the ruling camp around acting President Han, a last-minute alliance with Lee Jun-seok’s reformist New Conservative Party, and a major blunder by the DP. Without these pieces fitting together like Lego blocks, even a close contest seems unlikely. Most critically, after the consecutive collapses of two conservative presidencies, the party has failed to offer genuine reflection, a sincere apology or a renewed vision for conservatism — leaving it without the forgiveness, atonement and momentum necessary for a resurgence.

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, speaks during the party's regional primary in the Jeolla region at the Kimdaejung Convention Center in Gwangju on April 26. [NEWS1]

The starkest difference in this election compared to previous ones is the looming specter of “the birth of absolute power.” Beyond personal feelings toward Lee Jae-myung, public anxiety centers on the very real prospect that absolute power, which history shows inevitably corrupts, may soon become reality. If Lee assumes the presidency, the ruling bloc would control 189 seats in the National Assembly, securing dominance over both the executive and legislative branches. Korea’s president has the authority to appoint roughly 7,000 officials, including 166 at the ministerial and vice-ministerial levels, as well as top posts at 331 public institutions. In total, about 18,000 government positions fall under the president’s control. If legislative oversight is also lost, fears that Korea may see the rise of a “new czar” are hardly far-fetched. The president also wields indirect influence over the judiciary through nominations to the Constitutional Court, further raising concerns about the consolidation — rather than separation — of powers. Without realistic mechanisms for impeachment or veto, the system may grow disturbingly silent. Even before the public has fully recovered from the frustration and fatigue caused by former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s imperial presidency, anxieties over an even greater suffocation of liberty are rapidly spreading.

Yet history shows that in Korean politics, absolute power has rarely gone unchallenged. Since democratization in 1987, of 10 general elections, four resulted in ruling party majorities and six produced opposition majorities. In 1991, during President Roh Tae-woo’s tenure, the Democratic Liberal Party was formed through a three-party merger and secured 219 seats, creating a behemoth ruling party. However, power struggles between factions loyal to Kim Young-sam, Lee Jong-chan, Park Tae-joon, Park Chul-un and Kim Jong-pil led to constant internal conflict. In 2004, even after the Uri Party secured a majority of 152 seats following the backlash against President Roh Moo-hyun’s impeachment, ideological rifts between the party’s next-generation leaders like Kim Geun-tae and Chung Dong-young and the Roh administration created enduring friction.

Lee Jae-myung and other Democratic Party candidates hold a final campaign rally in front of Yongsan Station in central Seoul, April 9, 2024, on the eve of the parliamentary elections. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

President Lee Myung-bak, despite his sweeping victory by 5.31 million votes and his conservative Grand National Party’s win of 153 seats in the subsequent general election, soon faced rapid crisis. The administration’s arrogance and its tone-deafness to public sentiment — particularly the perception of cronyism involving wealthy elites from Gangnam and Lee’s personal networks, dubbed “Gangbuja” (Gangnam rich) and “Gosoyoung” (Korea University, Somang Church, Yeongnam region) appointments — triggered public backlash. Misreading public anxiety over U.S. beef imports, the administration saw its presidential secretaries resign en masse just six months into the term. Similarly, the Park Geun-hye administration, despite winning a clear majority, was dogged by criticism of cronyistic appointments, and the Yoon Suk Yeol administration faced the same. In each case, arrogant personnel decisions confined to inner circles triggered political collapse.

Even the Moon Jae-in administration, which enjoyed a historic 180-seat supermajority after the 2020 general elections amid the COVID-19 pandemic, ultimately fell victim to the “winner’s curse.” Mistaking the absence of checks and balances for unconditional support, the government pressed ahead aggressively with punitive property taxes, nuclear phaseout policies, income-led growth and the so-called “cleansing of accumulated evils,” only to collapse under the weight of its own overreach.

This is the historical lesson Lee Jae-myung must heed. He must move swiftly to address concerns about emerging absolutism. Institutional reforms — such as transitioning to a four-year, two-term presidency and allowing the National Assembly to recommend the prime minister — should be promised to take effect by 2030 at the latest. The next administration will launch without the benefit of a transition committee, and its first major test will come one year later in the local elections. Personnel appointments will be decisive.

One of Lee’s close aides recounted that when a candidate for appointment was recommended to Lee, he would ask only, “Is that person competent?” When asked whether Lee risked being dragged along by hardliners in the DP — particularly concerning labor policies for semiconductors, inheritance taxes and other economic issues — the aide simply quoted Lee as saying, “There are always good cops and bad cops in this world.”

Ultimately, there is only one way to allay fears of absolute power: a leader’s willingness to embrace diversity, balance and inclusion by appointing talent from across ideological and partisan lines. Whoever wins, the highest and most urgent duty of the next president will be the “great unification of Korea.”

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.