A party that turned its back on change faces an uncertain future

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A party that turned its back on change faces an uncertain future

Published: 13 Jan. 2026, 00:01

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Kang Won-taek

The author is a professor of political science and international relations at Seoul National University.

President Lee Jae Myung’s approval rating has stabilized at a relatively high level. A series of diplomatic achievements and efforts to communicate more actively with the public and the recent rally in the stock market appear to have helped. The Democratic Party seems to be distancing itself from several contentious legislative initiatives that it had previously pushed, which likely also played a role. This does not mean responses to the president have been uniformly positive. Corruption scandals involving lawmakers Kim Byung-kee and Kang Sun-woo have erupted, as has controversy surrounding the nomination of Lee Hye-hoon as the budget minister. The ruling party’s one-sided management of the National Assembly and its lack of political finesse have drawn additional criticism.

Jang Dong-hyeok, the leader of the People Power Party, right, and Song Eon-seog, the party’s floor leader, attend a Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly on Jan. 5. [YONHAP]

Even so, the president’s sustained popularity owes much to what might be called the opposition’s unintended assistance. The People Power Party, under leader Jang Dong-hyeok, has failed to step out of the shadow of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, allowing the narrative of “overcoming an insurrection” to become the Democratic Party’s all-purpose weapon. People having problems with the president or the ruling camp does not translate to support for the opposition. The People Power Party’s approval ratings have remained stuck in place for a long time. With the exception of a small group of ardent supporters, the party is already no longer a viable alternative for many voters, including those in the political center.

As a result, Korea’s party system increasingly resembles what Italian political scientist Giovanni Sartori described as a “predominant party system.” Elections remain competitive and democratic, but one party maintains long-term dominance. Japanese politics since 1955, marked by the long rule of the Liberal Democratic Party, is a classic example. In such a system, parties other than the ruling one are permanently condemned to be the opposition. This is not an abstract concern. Since 2016, conservative parties have struggled to win major elections. They have lost three consecutive parliamentary elections since that year, suffering crushing defeats in 2020 and 2024. They lost two presidential races and won one in 2022, but that victory came by a margin of just 0.73 percentage points, effectively a draw in political terms. The 2022 local elections, taking place during the postinauguration honeymoon period, remain the only clear conservative victory in the past decade. The record since then comprises eight contests, one win, one draw and six losses. After the shock of an emergency martial law fiasco, the party’s prospects look even darker.

When a car breaks down or can no longer take you to your destination, you change vehicles. If an existing party ceases to be a credible alternative, voters will look elsewhere. The People Power Party may assume that it is too big to fail, but history offers many counterexamples. Britain’s Liberal Party, which produced leaders such as William Gladstone and long dominated politics alongside the conservatives, declined rapidly after the 1920s, yielding its place to the Labour Party. Italy’s Christian Democracy party and the Italian Communist Party, which shaped postwar politics, disappeared entirely in the 1990s. More recently, France’s Socialist Party, once led by François Mitterrand and governing as recently as 2017 under François Hollande, has since collapsed.

What these failed parties shared was an inability to respond to changes of the times. Britain’s Liberals faltered as they failed to adapt to the socioeconomic transformations brought by World War I and industrialization. Italy’s Christian Democrats and Communists became relics as the Cold War ended. France’s Socialists lost public trust by mishandling the financial crisis and deindustrialization. Internal divisions and corruption compounded their decline.

Jang Dong-hyeok, the leader of the People Power Party, speaks at a public rally opposing what organizers describe as “judicial-destroying legislative dictatorship” in Sejong-daero near City Hall Station in Seoul on Sept. 28, 2025. [YONHAP]

Korea today faces equally profound change. Since the start of the second Trump administration, the international order has been in flux. The United States has gone so far as to eye Greenland, a territory of NATO member Denmark, underscoring how far it has departed from familiar patterns. China has surpassed Korea not only economically and militarily but also in science and technology. The AI revolution is reshaping daily life, as well as industrial structures. But the People Power Party remains anchored in the past. The conservative values promoted by the party and its leadership still revolve around authoritarianism and anticommunism, with hostility toward minorities increasingly added to the mix.

Conservatism, defined as preserving the old, easily acquires a musty image. For conservative parties to survive under that banner, they have historically needed to anticipate and adapt to change. A party that has forgotten that lesson is unlikely to secure its future simply by changing its name.

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.