Korean Presidential Election of 2022 in Focus: Failure Was Not A Lesson Learned

The photo above is of Gwanghwamun Plaza, which became a symbol of democracy in Korea after protests against president Park took place here. Photo provided by Jeon Han, from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Korean Culture and Information Service.

After the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye following a stunning media report highlighting her abuse of power and neglect of presidential duties in 2017, Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party succeeded her as the 19th President of South Korea. For the Democratic Party of South Korea, it was an unprecedented turnover of power: the Conservative Party had essentially self-destructed, and Moon Jae-in, the runner-up against Park in the presidential election of 2012, had the reputation of being a politician with integrity. Nearing the end of President Moon’s term, the legacies of Park's impeachment do not seem to have lasted; the 2021 by-elections for Seoul and Busan, two cities with the highest population, ended with a devastating defeat for the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party did not receive a single municipality’s majority support in Seoul (the reasons for this are complex: involvement of the ex-Seoul mayor in a sex scandal and corruption scandals in Moon’s cabinet, to name a few), and since then, the political prospects seem dire for Moon’s successors. To voters, there is a continued lack of viable candidates from the bipartisan political landscape. 

With the upcoming Korean Presidential Election of 2022, this article will analyze the narrative surrounding candidates and the diverging political landscape of South Korea. Lee Jae-myung prevailed over the other candidates in the primary election of the Democratic Party in what was described as a “mud-slinging campaign”. Much of the party platform dedicated to discussing each of the candidates’ respective policies were instead dominated by Lee Jae-myung’s scandals and controversies. What formed Lee Jae-myung’s public image was his anti-establishment stance—essentially being anti-Moon—and his period as the governor of the Gyeonggi province surrounding Seoul. His reputation for excellent bureaucratic management and anti-Moon comments had brought him to popularity as an alternative solution to the supporters of the Democratic Party, searching for a viable alternative in the age of post-Moon Jae-in. However, what turned him against moderate progressive voters in the Korean political landscape were his private and public scandals: voice recordings of Lee talking to his now-deceased brother in extremely profane language and allegations of corrupt involvement in a recent uncovering of a land-development project in the same province Lee governed. The latter scandal is cited as the reason Lee’s poll numbers were pushed back in the final, most important rounds of the primary election. Such developments in Lee’s personal and public narratives caused the primaries to be muddled with scandals instead of constructive discussions of policy. 

The People’s Power Party, the conservative party, is no different in its process of conducting its primary elections; despite seeking the image of reformation by electing the youngest chairperson of the conservative party, its primary elections are being tainted with attacks on the candidate’s family members, old personal rivalries, and pseudo-religious practices. Yoon Seok-yul, a Prosecutor-General who was appointed by Moon Jae-in but resigned after the tremendous efforts of Attorney-General Choo Mi-ae (the chairperson of the Democratic Party during the Presidential Elections of 2017) to oust Yoon after his investigations on Moon’s cabinet members, surprisingly emerged as a leading candidate of the conservative party. He rapidly gained support from conservative party supporters due to his qualities of impartiality and staunch adherence to the Constitution. However, Yoon’s hasty claims defending an ex-dictator, involvement with an unlicensed acupuncturist (related to pseudo-religious practices), and insincere apologies for his offensive claims further derailed the conservative party’s primary elections from discussing policy to exposing and attacking scandals. Viable alternatives have not yet emerged for either of the candidates of the two leading parties of South Korea’s bipartisan political landscape; the poll results of moderate candidates such as Ahn Cheol-soo, who was considered a moderate alternative but was not able to extend his broad political support to a viable result, are lacking compared to the two previously mentioned candidates. 

To a certain degree, the discussion of political scandals is essential to a political campaign; uncovering corruption or scandalous personal issues that may serve to be a major moral complication to serving as president of a nation must be discussed, investigated, and shared thoroughly with the citizens. This constitutes the “right to know,” one of the universal rights established by the Constitution. However, what must not happen is the muddling of all political agendas and discussions of policies in favor of minor, unimportant comments that are problematized to a toxic degree—they serve no purpose, other than forming a blockage to the voter’s eyes and ears who deserve the information that they need to make informed decisions. Additionally, party platforms should function appropriately and search for a truly suitable candidate for the presidency; parties must reflect upon themselves and recognize the flaws in their candidates and potentially even filter out inappropriate candidates—the intended purpose of the primaries. Such problems are not only faced by South Korea but are widespread in liberal-democracies with bipartisan political landscapes, such as the United States. Brave strides must be made to prioritize the delivery of necessary policies and appropriate criticism through constructive discourse and debates. What South Korea needs at this moment from the soon-to-be-President who will lead the state and government for the next five years is just such bravery and courage. 

Inwoo Kim is a student of the dual degree program between Columbia University and Sciences Po (‘25). He likes to contemplate about his life and future when he is not doing any work.