Conservatives at a crossroads: Reform or irrelevance
Published: 04 Jun. 2025, 05:00
![People Power Party's presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo bows to his supporters during his election campaign held on May 12 in Daegu. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/06/04/4b34367e-5787-4fbc-8e1f-e0f34416da0b.jpg)
People Power Party's presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo bows to his supporters during his election campaign held on May 12 in Daegu. [NEWS1]
The crushing defeat of Kim Moon-soo in Korea’s 21st presidential election marked not a surprise, but a consequence — one that the People Power Party (PPP) largely brought upon itself.
The turning point came last December, when the National Assembly passed the impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk Yeol. That moment called for the PPP to break decisively from Yoon and chart a new course. As the ruling party, it should have offered a candid apology to the public for the president’s imposition of martial law and reorganized the party’s leadership around non-Yoon-aligned figures. If the party had removed Yoon’s shadow and pursued a broad coalition — including figures like Rep. Lee Jun-seok, who opposed Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung — it might have stood a chance.
Instead, the party doubled down. Captivated by its hardline base, the PPP spent critical weeks rallying against Yoon’s impeachment rather than preparing for its post-Yoon future. Its leadership ignored calls for reform, clinging to the hope that the Constitutional Court would reject the impeachment. Only after the unanimous ruling on April 4 did the party begin preparing for the presidential race — but by then, centrist voters had already turned away.
This election result is a clear indictment of the PPP’s complacency and failure to change. The party now stands at the edge of a political cliff.
Last year’s general election exposed the PPP’s deep vulnerabilities among voters in the Seoul metropolitan area and among moderates. Those weaknesses remain unaddressed. The party must undertake painful internal reform, moving beyond ideological rigidity and rebuilding a policy platform that appeals to centrist and urban voters. It must also urgently restore support among voters in their 20s and 30s, many of whom defected after Lee Jun-seok’s departure.
![Former President Yoon Suk Yeol appears at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on May 26 for the fifth hearing on charges of leading an insurrection and abuse of power by obstructing the exercise of rights. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/06/04/6a9f0e31-9517-40e3-81cb-b56913b62c38.jpg)
Former President Yoon Suk Yeol appears at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on May 26 for the fifth hearing on charges of leading an insurrection and abuse of power by obstructing the exercise of rights. [NEWS1]
More broadly, the conservative political establishment must reckon with a pattern: Why have presidents from its ranks repeatedly failed to complete their terms? The party remains full of figures who thrive off proximity to power, yet are hostile to internal criticism. That dynamic must change.
Unless the PPP recommits to principles of responsibility and inclusion, its very survival in next year’s local elections will be in doubt.
Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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