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Conservative lawmakers have grabbed two thirds of the seats in the National Assembly following the 18th general elections. It¡¯s only natural, then, to question the ability of the UDP, with less than a third of the seats in parliament, to curb and check this overwhelming force if it goes full speed ahead with its agenda. Already, the activities of non-mainstream Grand National Party lawmakers loyal to Park Geun-hye are in greater focus than the UDP¡¯s. But unless the pro-Park lawmakers leave the GNP and form their own party, the main opposition UDP is realistically the only force that can keep the ruling party in check.
Politics is not just about the size of each faction. The 81 seats won by the UDP is not a small number. What the UDP should see is not the vast battlefield in front of it, but the changes that have taken place in Korean society, which have left the party far behind.
Lawmakers who trace their roots to pro-democracy activism ended up becoming marginalized during this election. Kim Geun-tae, Yoo In-tae, Han Myeong-sook, Chang Young-dal and other veterans of the pro-democracy movement either lost their election bids or dropped out. Most of the so-called ¡°386¡± generation of lawmakers, including Im Jong-seok and Lee In-young, failed in their bids. The pro-democracy forces, who commanded politics for 20 years since the June 29, 1987 democratic transition, have disappeared as if washed away by a powerful wave.
The public has never been stingy in its historical assessment of the pro-democracy movement. But the pro-democracy forces have taken this positive assessment for granted for too long. As a result, many people ended up viewing the pro-democracy track records touted by these people as a symbol of power. Since the 1980s, the pro-democracy movement deteriorated into a movement supporting Kim Il-sung¡¯s Juche ideology or leftwing activism. It was during the two previous administrations that people from these groups also wore the insignia of power and wielded tremendous authority. But while these people swaggered around, the public got far ahead of them. The results were the last presidential election, which yielded the greatest difference in votes between the winner and the runner-up ever, and this general election, which brought about the collapse of the leftwing forces.
Progressive values, including human rights, welfare, peace, environmental protection, nurturing small businesses, and consideration for minority groups, are all necessary for the country and its people. Realistically, the only political force that can protect these values is the UDP. Whether the public can trust the UDP again depends on how successful the party is in finding the right position as a progressive party by shaking off its outdated image, and how far it can distance itself from North Korea. The UDP faces a test of whether it will be able to raise itself to a new level.
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