South Korea's quadrennial parliamentary elections were held as scheduled on the 15th, with more than 1,000 candidates from various political parties competing for 300 seats in the National Assembly. The results of the vote count show that the voter turnout in the election under the background of the epidemic has reached a new high, and the enthusiasm of the people is high.
The ruling Co-Democratic Party camp won 180 seats, or three-fifths of the total number of seats, which public opinion called a historic victory. The main opposition party, the Future United Party camp, won 103 seats, and the party leader, Huang Jiao'an, announced his resignation and was responsible for the defeat.
The analysis believes that the Moon Jae-in government has achieved success in fighting the epidemic, helping the ruling party to win the majority of seats in the National Assembly, which is expected to promote its future governance agenda. At the same time, the defeat of the opposition adds uncertainty to its fate.
After 30 years, the "super ruling party" has reappeared
In this election, the Democratic Party and liberal parties joined forces to run against the future Unification Party, the largest opposition party, the Liberal Korea Party, in conjunction with other conservative forces. In the end, the progressive faction represented by the Democratic Party and the conservative faction represented by the United Party formed a pattern of "two powers competing for hegemony."
The Democratic Party, on the other hand, played slogans such as "overcoming national difficulties" and called on voters to rally their strength and support the current President Moon Jae-in's government and the Democratic Party of China in order to maintain stability and improve people's livelihood.
The United Party, for its part, aimed at sniping at the Democratic Party to gain a majority, and on the grounds of the failure of the government's economic policies, the ineffective response to the initial epidemic, and the corruption case of former Minister of Justice Cao Guo, it threw out the "regime trial theory" and called on voters to punish the Moon Jae-in government and its political party with votes, and its intention to contain the ruling party was very obvious.
Smaller parties, such as the People's Livelihood Party and the Justice Party, have emphasized their necessary role in balancing the two major parties in their campaigns.
As of 10:00 a.m. on the 16th, the results of the vote count showed that the Democratic camp won 180 seats, including 163 constituency seats and 17 proportional representative seats. The UCP camp won 103 seats, and apart from the vote bases in Seoul's Gangnam and Yeongnam districts, the UCP camp suffered a crushing defeat in most constituencies.
By comparison, as of the end of March, the Democratic Party had 120 seats in Congress, the largest party in Congress; the United Party had 92 seats, making it the second-largest party. It can be seen that as the Moon Jae-in government enters the middle of the government, the new Parliament will usher in a completely different look.
Yonhap News Agency said that the Democratic Party won the 180 seats this time, the highest in the history of elections, which is the second time since the three parties merged into the Democratic Liberal Party in 1990 and won 218 seats, and the ruling party has won the vast majority of seats.
It has also been analyzed that in the two-strong pattern, in addition to the Justice Party winning a small number of seats, the foothold of the third political party has been greatly reduced, the 21st National Assembly, which is "large and small," has returned to the "two-party system," and the legislative map has changed dramatically.
Fang Xiuyu, a professor at Fudan University's Korea and Korea Studies Center, explained that through this election, the South Korean Parliament has moved toward a relatively stable two-party pattern, and no small party has reached the middle force that can contain the two major parties.
The epidemic is about to choose the situation
In South Korea, election issues are usually South Korea-North Korea relations, economics and corruption, and voters are deeply divided in ideology, generation and region. But this time, "how the government responds to the outbreak is a decisive factor in presidential approval ratings and parliamentary elections," said Park Si-young, head of WinG Korea, a seoul-based political investigation firm.
As the number of covid-19 infections worldwide exceeds 2 million and the death toll exceeds 120,000, South Korea has relatively contained the epidemic without fully adopting lockdown measures, with fewer than 30 new cases in recent days.
South Korean polling agency Realmeter released the results of the poll on the 16th, showing that Moon Jae-in's support for the administration was 55.7%, the highest record in a year and a half. Democratic support was 45.2 percent, up 2.6 percent, and more than 40 percent for nine consecutive weeks, the highest since the first week of October 2018; UCP approval fell 0.7 percent to 29.5 percent.
The rising approval ratings of Moon and his party reflect south Korean public acceptance of his anti-epidemic measures. In the face of the epidemic, the south Korean people's uneasiness has spread, and the need to maintain the stability of the government has become more prominent.
Zhan Debin, director of the Korean Peninsula Research Center of shanghai University of International Business and Economics, pointed out that it is of great significance that the Democratic Party won 180 seats through elections that reflect the will of the people, rather than political parties. The epidemic has had a great impact on the election situation, and the support rate of Moon Jae-in and the Democratic Party has risen as the epidemic has been contained. At the same time, the United Party wants to target the Moon Jae-in government's ineffective response, but it fails to revise its tactics in a timely manner as public opinion changes at home and abroad, and repeatedly speaks out in the election campaign.
In addition, Zhan Debin pointed out that in the past four years, there have been constant disputes in the South Korean Parliament, lack of substantive results, and many people's livelihood bills have been stranded. At present, we are in an extraordinary period of the epidemic, and many bills urgently need to be passed. Voters recognize that they need a strong ruling party to deal with the COVID-19 crisis.
As for those who believe that the Democratic Party's election performance benefits from the good results of prevention and control, Fang Xiuyu believes that this is only one aspect. More importantly, at present, the epidemic is not optimistic about the global, regional and Korean economies, and survival and development are the common needs of the people. In this context, the Democratic Party's call for voters to support the government's extrication from national difficulties echoes voters' wishes.
In contrast, the United Party has barely crossed the threshold of 100 seats needed to prevent constitutional revision this time, and its political status is much worse than before. Fang Xiuyu pointed out that the unification party failed to understand the people's hearts and minds and misjudged the situation. At present, the global economic outlook is not optimistic, and South Korea, whose economic development depends on foreign trade, may face more difficulties. In this context, the Unification Party's "theory of political adjudication" is contrary to the pursuit of stability and people's hearts, and the party's leadership has limited ability.
Current affairs commentator Park Sang-byung said conservative parties shouted against Moon without giving voters a reason why they had to choose themselves.
Ji Yeon Hong, a professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, told AFP that after the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye, the Conservative Party "failed to rebrand itself" and "limit the borders of support to the older generation and the core support area".
Fang expects the conservative camp to have difficulty regrouping in the short term. The camp temporarily "organized" in order to win this election, and the immediate interests took precedence over the long-term interests, and the immediate interests no longer existed. The direction of the camp will depend on factors such as whether it can find people who can unite the interests of all parties and whether the parties can unite.
Boost Moon Jae-in's governing agenda
Moon Jae-in said on the election results on the 16th that in the face of the great choice of all the people, he deeply feels a heavy responsibility. This year is the third year of his five-year term, and public opinion believes that this congressional election is a "midterm examination" for his government and a bellwether for the 2022 presidential election.
The New York Times said that with Wednesday's victory, South Korean progressives gained unprecedented political influence. "By taking over congress, progressives have replaced conservatives as the dominant political force in South Korea," said Park Sung-min, head of Min Consulting, a Seoul-based polling firm.
Yonhap News Agency quoted Lee Hyun-sung, a professor at Konkuk University, as pointing out that the election will determine the fate of the two major parties, and the victory of the Democratic Party will accelerate the promotion of judicial reform; the defeat of the Unification Party will impact the party's leadership system and turn into a situation of inner-party struggle.
Mr. Zhan expects the Democratic Party to win a majority of seats that will help Moon jae-in implement his governance plan and reform measures in the second half of his term, while weakening the opposition's ability to contain it. The future development of the opposition depends on how they reflect on and improve and find capable leaders.
Duyeon Kim, a senior adviser to the International Crisis Group, believes that a Democratic victory could boost Moon's key domestic and foreign policies, including dialogue between the two Koreas and the United States.
However, Fang Xiuyu pointed out that the Democratic Party of China as a "super ruling party" also has certain risks. As a large party with monopoly of power, it is expected to take responsibility for policy mistakes, and it is expected that the party will pursue policies more cautiously.
The popular vote was enthusiastic
Another major focus of this election is the high enthusiasm for the people to vote. South Korea is reportedly the first country to hold a general election during the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, some analysts believed that due to the impact of the epidemic, some voters may be reluctant to go to the polling station, resulting in a decrease in the turnout rate, but the facts have proved that the epidemic has not dragged down the voting enthusiasm of South Korean voters.
Preliminary statistics released by the Election Management Committee show that nearly 30 million of the nearly 44 million registered voters voted, and the turnout in this election was 66.2%, the highest since the 14th Congress election in 1992 (71.9%). Turnout was 58 percent in the last Congressional election.
According to expert analysis, the sense of crisis triggered by the epidemic may be one of the reasons for the high enthusiasm of the South Korean people for voting. The heat of this election under the epidemic has exceeded expectations, and behind it also reflects the voters' expectations for the improvement of people's livelihood and their expectations for a better life.
Fang Xiuyu believes that voters have expressed their love for the country through voting this time and hope that the country will get out of trouble. In addition, according to the election reform bill passed by the South Korean Parliament last December, the minimum age for electors was reduced from the original 19 years old to 18 years old, which ignited the political enthusiasm of young people to some extent, thereby increasing voter turnout.
At present, the early warning level of the epidemic in South Korea has been maintained at a "serious", and in the context of the postponement of elections in many countries due to the epidemic, how South Korea organizes large-scale elections in extraordinary times has attracted much attention. To this end, the Korean election administration has made a lot of efforts.
To ensure that voters who cannot vote on the 15th exercise their right to vote, South Korea has held early voting at 3,508 polling stations across the country from April 10 to 11. Surprisingly, the advance turnout was as high as 26.7%, a new historical record.
On voting day, the voting process is also more cumbersome than before. According to the regulations, ordinary voters voted from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. to 6 p.m. Quarantiners vote from 18:00 to 19:00, and must return home to continue the quarantine after the voting is over. Confirmed patients can vote by mail, etc.
Before the on-site voting, the temperature of voters who must wear masks is taken one by one, and those who exceed 37.5 degrees Celsius or have suspicious respiratory symptoms will be taken to a separate polling station to vote.
After taking their temperature, voters disinfect their hands with alcohol disinfectant, temporarily take off their masks, expose their cheeks to check their identities, and then put on disposable gloves to collect their ballots. Waiting for the vote is spaced at a distance of more than 1 meter from each other. After each voting operation, the epidemic prevention personnel will carry out a thorough disinfection operation.
Chung Eun-young, a resident of Seoul, said the voting process was not as cumbersome as it had been. "I don't like what we're going through now, I voted to prevent the wrong candidate from getting elected."
Kim Ki-chul, 33, said the recent drop in new cases prompted him to come out and vote. "South Korea has shown excellent competence compared to the way other countries have handled the outbreak, which has increased my trust in the government."
Ko Hyung-pyo, a 46-year-old management consultant, said acquaintances around him wanted to vote because of polarization in South Korean politics. "Of course people are interested. The pandemic is dominating everything, whether you're progressive or conservative, people think, 'If I don't go to the ballot, the side I support is at a disadvantage,'" he said.
Mr. Gao split the vote in two, one for a conservative candidate and the other for the progressive camp, hoping to strike some political balance. "I hope they can work together to give some hope to society." We are all worried about what will happen after the pandemic. (South Korea's parliamentary elections are held in a way that combines a small constituency system and a proportional representation system.) Each voter cast two simultaneous votes, one for the candidate in his constituency and one for the party he supported. ）
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Column Editor-in-Chief: Yang Liqun Text Editor: Yang Liqun Caption Source: Xinhua News Agency Photo Editor: Xiang Jianying
Source: Lu Yifei