A nation where one in four citizens is a party member

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A nation where one in four citizens is a party member

Published: 14 Oct. 2025, 00:01

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Park Sang-hoon

The author is a political scientist.

Korea’s People Power Party is under investigation for allegations of orchestrating group party enrollments that violate election law. The Democratic Party, facing similar scrutiny, has launched an internal review of its 400,000 new members. Each time such controversies arise, both parties promise full-scale investigations, yet little changes.

Among voluntary associations, joining a political party carries one of the highest psychological barriers. Membership data are tightly protected, and becoming a party member is often more complicated than joining a labor union. In most democracies, the ratio of party members to voters is roughly one-seventh that of union members to workers. Even filling out a party membership application is a demanding process.

People Power Party interim leader and floor leader Song Eon-seok and other senior officials pose for a group photo during the party’s 6th national convention at Cheongju Osco in Heungdeok District, Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, on Aug. 22. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

In Korea, applicants must provide detailed personal information — address, contact details, national ID number, disability status, education, and occupation — as well as specify desired areas of party activity. They must also submit bank account details, mobile carrier information and the recommender’s name, contact information and signature. Consent is required for the collection and sharing of personal data, along with a handwritten signature confirming voluntary participation.

Despite this burden, many still join voluntarily. In Germany, which has a long tradition of mass parties, the two largest parties together count more than 800,000 members, and nationwide membership totals around 1.3 million — about 2 percent of the electorate. The ratio is slightly lower in the Britain and France and somewhat higher in Scandinavian countries. Korea, however, is an extreme outlier.

According to the National Election Commission’s 2023 report on political party activities and finances, Korea had more than 11 million registered party members — 25.3 percent of all voters, thirteen times higher than Germany’s rate. One in four Korean voters is nominally a party member, double the figure of a decade ago. The data suggest a near “universal party membership” across the nation, but the numbers do not reflect reality.

A 2023 audit by the Democratic Party’s Gwangju chapter reviewed 15 percent of its local members. In some districts, up to 95 percent turned out to be “ghost members.” Yet the party did not remove them. By the end of that year, Gwangju’s membership still stood at roughly 590,000 — 48.8 percent of the city’s electorate.

Do these members even know they belong to a party? One district committee chair told the author, “About 70 percent of those listed as members don’t know they are. And I don’t know who about 70 percent of them are.” A former union leader offered further insight: “We signed up union members as party members — not only for the Democrats but also for the People Power Party.” When asked whether dual membership is illegal, he laughed. “It’s useful when needed.”

Some argue that paying dues should be the standard for genuine membership. That seems reasonable. According to the same election commission data, about 2.68 million people pay party dues — around 6 percent of the electorate. That is still high, but more credible than the inflated 25 percent figure. Yet even this number may not represent active participation.

Both major parties set dues at just 1,000 won (about 70 cents) per month — a rate originally kept low to encourage sign-ups. Now, despite boasting the world’s largest proportion of party members, neither party intends to raise it. The reason lies in their internal primary system.

During primaries, candidates compete to recruit members. Their first targets are friends and acquaintances, but to reach the required scale, they turn to groups where secrecy can be maintained — religious congregations, labor unions and sports associations. Mass recruitment often involves paying the membership fees on behalf of recruits, with the promise of later favors or rewards.

Acting Democratic Party leader and floor leader Kim Byung-kee, along with other party executives and election committee chair Kim Jung-ho, join hands during the opening ceremony of the Democratic Party’s National Convention at Kintex in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, on Aug. 2. [YONHAP]

If dues were increased, candidates could not afford these costs. After primaries end, many stop paying altogether. When the next contest approaches, the recruitment cycle resumes, repeating the pattern of fake enrollments and proxy payments. Official membership numbers swell, but genuine participation does not.

In the People Power Party, members must pay dues for at least three months to gain voting rights; in the Democratic Party, for six months. In this year’s party leadership races, about 1.11 million Democratic members and 750,000 People Power members were eligible to vote. Of these, roughly 630,000 and 330,000, respectively, actually did — about one million combined. These are the true party members. The rest, around 10 million “statistical members,” exist only on paper.

Most have never completed a form, paid dues, or expressed intent to maintain membership. Many hold dual affiliations, and few exercise their rights even when eligible. It is time to end this accumulation of inactive and illegal memberships. A party system with one million engaged, dues-paying and educated members would contribute far more to Korea’s democracy than inflated rolls of many more phantom supporters.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.