United Future Party's 'General Election Defeat'... "Lack of Leadership and Inadequate Election Strategy"

Shinyul General Election White Paper Special Committee Vice Chairman
Attends First-Term Lawmakers Meeting to Emphasize Role

Shin Yul, Vice Chairman of the Future United Party's Special Committee for the Production of the General Election White Paper, is giving a lecture at the Future United Party's first-term lawmakers' meeting "Myeongbul Eoheojeon" held at the National Assembly on the 8th. At this event, they analyzed the reasons for the Future United Party's defeat in the 21st general election and discussed the party's future. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Bitter criticism poured out at the meeting of first-term lawmakers of the United Future Party regarding the causes of defeat in the 21st general election. The main causes cited were ▲lack of leadership and democratic decision-making structure ▲insufficient election strategy ▲absence of election vision and slogan. There was also advice that the United Future Party should benchmark the strategy of the then United Democratic Party, which only secured 81 seats in the 18th general election.

Professor Shin Yul of Myongji University, who serves as the vice chairman of the special committee for producing the United Future Party’s general election white paper, said at the first-term lawmakers’ study meeting "Myeongbulheojeon Conservative" held at the National Assembly Members’ Office Building on the 8th, "This election saw the general election planning team, the candidate screening committee, and the election countermeasures committee working independently. In such a situation, there is no continuity, making it difficult for the election to be successful," and criticized, "Leadership was weak. If leadership does not function, the democratic decision-making process should fill that gap, but it did not."

Problems with election strategies such as senior lawmakers running in difficult districts and the youth belt were also raised. Professor Shin diagnosed, "Based on the defeat in the local elections, a strategy should have been established from the perspective of the underdog," adding, "I understand the intention behind placing senior lawmakers in difficult districts, but a situation arose where they were desperate to survive themselves, and in the case of former leader Hwang Kyo-ahn, running in Jongno was not an environment where he could oversee the entire election." He continued, "They nominated young candidates but only sent them to difficult districts. Doing it this way is worse than not doing it at all," and pointed out, "It was different during the Saenuri Party days. When nominating young people, they either nominated them in favorable regions or as ‘assassin candidates’."

Professor Shin said, "What was the slogan of the United Future Party? Judging the Moon Jae-in administration is not a slogan. That means there was no slogan," and delivered a direct blow, "Even though the situation changed due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the argument for judging the administration continued. Was that really a rational strategy? Think about it yourself."

Professor Shin mentioned the former Hannara Party’s 'Namwonjeong' (Nam Kyung-pil, Won Hee-ryong, Jeong Byeong-guk) and urged first-term lawmakers to actively voice their opinions on party innovation. Regarding the United Future Party’s strategy for the 21st National Assembly, he said, "There was a time in the past when the Democratic Party had far fewer seats than the United Future Party," and added, "It is necessary to study how the Democratic Party acted strategically at that time."