[Politics, That Day...] 20th General Election, Another Democratic Party Was on the Ballot...

From Minjoo Party to Hannara Party and Gonghwah Party, Exciting 'Minor League'... Nostalgic Party Names, 21st General Election's Key Point: 'Misguided Voting'

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] ‘Politics, On That Day…’ is a series planning corner that looks back on Korean politics through the ‘recollection of memories’ related to notable scenes, events, or figures.

On June 13, 2018, the day of the 7th nationwide local elections and the by-elections for the National Assembly, citizens are voting at a polling station set up at Jamsin Elementary School in Songpa-gu, Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

Elections are a cold world where only the ‘winners’ are remembered. But that is not all. In the 2016 20th general election, proportional representation seats were distributed as follows: Saenuri Party 17 seats, Democratic Party and People's Party 13 seats each, and Justice Party 4 seats. Saenuri Party recorded a party vote share of 33.50%, People's Party 26.74%, Democratic Party 25.54%, and Justice Party 7.23%.

Only these four parties won at least one proportional representation seat. According to Article 189 of the Public Official Election Act, to be eligible for proportional representation seat allocation in a general election, a party must either win at least 5 constituency seats or achieve a party vote share of 3% or more. There were 21 parties that participated in the 20th general election. Seventeen parties recorded less than 3% of the party vote share. What kind of parties were these 17 that failed to secure seats in the National Assembly?

Just by looking at the party names, one cannot help but be surprised. This is because parties with names that could be mistaken for those that have produced presidents competed. The main characters are Hannara Party, Democratic Party, and Republican Party. The Republican Party’s name evokes the Democratic Republican Party (Republican Party) that produced President Park Chung-hee. In the 20th general election, a party named Republican Party also ran in the proportional representation election and recorded 12,295 votes nationwide (0.05%).

They failed to reach even 0.1% of the vote share, let alone the 3% threshold for proportional representation allocation. Compared to the Republican Party, Hannara Party had a better (?) result. The Hannara Party, which elected President Lee Myung-bak, also ran in the 20th general election.

On June 11, 2018, two days before the 7th nationwide local elections, staff from the Yeongdeungpo District Election Commission are inspecting a ballot sorter at the counting center set up in the Yeongdeungpo Multipurpose Badminton Gymnasium in Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

The Hannara Party of the 2007 presidential election and the Hannara Party of the 2016 general election are different parties. Hannara Party recorded 86,464 votes (0.36%) in the 20th general election. Of course, it failed to elect any candidates.

How many people know that another Democratic Party, different from the Democratic Party, competed in the 20th general election? In the 20th general election, a separate party named Democratic Party, not the current Democratic Party, ran. This is the so-called ‘non-parliamentary’ Democratic Party.

The Democratic Party recorded a considerable 209,872 votes (0.88%) nationwide. It performed well with vote shares of 1.51% in Gwangju, 2.22% in Jeonbuk, and 2.37% in Jeonnam. Why did it record relatively high vote shares in Honam? Could it be that voters confused it with the Democratic Party?

This suggests that when parties with similar names run in proportional representation elections, unexpected results may occur. The Democratic Party achieved a meaningful result with over 200,000 people choosing it.

National Assembly Building / Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

There was also a candidate with a recognizable name who ran under the Democratic Party banner in a constituency. The main figure is former lawmaker Shin Gi-nam, the Democratic Party candidate for Gangseo-gap, Seoul. Former lawmaker Shin received 6,496 votes (6.42%) and lost. In that constituency, Democratic Party candidate Geum Tae-seop was elected with 37.24% of the vote share.

Then, what about the 21st general election? According to the Central Election Commission on the 28th, among the 39 registered parties, besides the Democratic Party, there are Minjung Democratic Party and Unified Democratic Party, but no party named Democratic Party.

However, Hannara Party and Republican Party still exist. How did these parties perform? While it can be pointed out that they are parties with the same names but completely different contents, it is difficult for ordinary people to know all the political details. This means that at the polling station, voters might be drawn to a familiar party name.