2024 Snap Elections

The nearly year long build up to the 2024 emergency snap elections was fraught with tension as all parties fought to re-establish their position in Korea. The first election since unification, how it ends will determine Korea’s political make-up for years to come.

The Democratic Party (DP), under the leadership of Premier Moon Jae-in, seek a reaffirmation of the status quo thus far. Pointing to the Premier’s level-handed guidance through the Pyongyang Crisis, the Democratic Party will inevitably lose seats thanks to the entry of new parties.

The New Democratic Party (NDP), under the leadership of former-DP-leader Kang Byung-won, is the Democratic Party’s main challenger from the left. Proclaiming that Moon Jae-in has failed in his mandate of maintaining democracy by not pushing harder for liberal reform to the North, Byung-won hopes to gobble up much of the DP’s base. However, their position on the left is slightly crowded by the Justice Party (JP), led by Yeo Yeong-gug. The JP is using similar rhetoric as a whole, but with a bigger emphasis on combating the influence of the chaebol-dominated economic system in comparison with the NDP’s focus on North-South relations.

The Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK), under the leadership of long-time bureaucrat Choe Ryong-hae, faces a tough election. With no experience campaigning in a democratic society, the WPK is relying on brute force, intimidation, and state power to maintain their grip over Northern provinces. While it’s likely that the Governorships and Mayorships remain in WPK hands, the presence of Korea National Army forces complicates the matter of the provincial and city councils. The WPK’s goal is simple - maintain power.

The People Party (PP), led by Ahn Cheol-soo, shores up the centre of the political establishment. Proclaiming an ideology of social and economic progressivism as a whole, Ahn Cheol-soo is at the forefront of demanding action against the North. However, the presence of other right-wing parties has muddied the area of the political spectrum that they are trying to clear out.

Most directly, the People Power Party (PPP), led by the young Lee Jun-seok, remains in their way. Though their credibility was severely damaged by agreeing to the terms of unification at all, Jun-seok’s clever politicking and framing of the matter has maintained the PPP’s viability on the right. The change has propelled the PPP more to the centre, however, with the more radical elements leaving to new parties, but the PPP clearly will have a large role to play in the future.

The far-right is crowded too. The more traditional of the two is the Liberty Korea Party (LKP), led by former PPP Secretary-General Park Wan-su. The LKP is running on a heavily anti-communist and nearly paleoconservative values, and thanks to the PPP’s shift to the centre it was anticipated that the LKP would have an avenue to success. However, the black horse of the Grand National Restoration Party (GNRP), led by Yi Kwon, has dominated politics. Uniquely, the GNRP’s primary focus is on a monarchist agenda, wishing for the return of the House of Yi as the head of state of Korea in place of the eleven-year old Kim Ju-ae. Other than that, the GNRP advocates an intensely anti-communist, nationalist, anti-Japanese, and isolationist agenda. The GNRP has been particularly good in cultivating a base around the South of the country.