[Politics, That Day...] The 'Youth Progressive Maverick' Who Made Political Giants Nervous Back Then

Democratic Labor Party's Park Yong-jin and Shin Jang-sik, Around 30 Years Old, Stir Up General Election... Compete Strongly Against Senior Lawmakers Jo Soon-hyung and Lee Hae-chan

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min]

Editor's Note‘Politics, That Day...’ is a series planning corner that looks back on Korean politics through the ‘recollection of memories’ related to scenes, events, and figures that deserve attention.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

It has been 16 years since the Democratic Labor Party entered the National Assembly under the banner of a progressive party in 2004, but progressive politics still faces a difficult path. When it emerged as a dark horse by securing 10 seats in the 17th general election, there were expectations that it would change the foundation of Korean politics, but its political status has been regressing.

In particular, the results of the 21st general election last April were below expectations. Seoul, the ‘heart of politics,’ not only failed to elect any candidates but also showed disappointing results compared to the previous election. The Justice Party fielded few candidates in Seoul constituencies, and their vote shares were low. The best performance was by Justice Party candidate Oh Hyun-joo in Mapo-eul, who received 8.87% of the vote. Other Justice Party candidates in Seoul failed to surpass 5%, far from winning positions.

Candidate Oh’s vote share is also far behind that of the Democratic Party’s Jung Cheong-rae, who won the Mapo-eul constituency with 53.75%. One diagnosis is that the absence of so-called star politicians is the cause of the poor performance in constituencies. This implies that the void left after the late former lawmaker Roh Hoe-chan’s passing is deeply felt.

The memorial cultural event for the late Roh Hoe-chan, floor leader of the Justice Party, is being held on the 26th at Yonsei University Auditorium in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. Citizens who could not attend are participating in the memorial service outside through video. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

In fact, former lawmaker Roh ran as a candidate of the Unified Progressive Party in the Nowon-byeong constituency of Seoul in the 19th general election in April 2012 and won a landslide victory with 57.21% (52,270 votes). The runner-up, Saenuri Party candidate Heo Jun-young, received only 36,201 votes (39.62%), suffering a complete defeat.

The vote share Roh Hoe-chan received was the best result in the history of progressive parties in Seoul general elections. While the failure to produce star politicians may be a reason for the decline in competitiveness, it does not explain all the questions. It means there is a need for self-reflection on why progressive parties are not chosen by voters.

There was a time when ‘young progressive mavericks’ challenged political heavyweights in Seoul and caused a stir, at a time when the soil for progressive politics was barren to an extent incomparable to the political landscape of 2020. At that time, they were only around thirty years old. From the perspective of Yeouido politics, they were just political newcomers, but voters saw them as an investment in the future.

Their opponents were political giants who left their names in Korean political history, and the competition at that time was no different from the battle between David and Goliath.

Park Yong-jin, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker. / Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

During the Kim Dae-jung administration, in the 16th general election in 2000, Saecheonnyun Democratic Party candidate Jo Soon-hyung ran in the Gangbuk-eul constituency of Seoul and won with 46.45% of the vote, but it was not an easy victory. This was because the Democratic Labor Party candidate, only 28 years old at the time, achieved a strong 13.26%.

The dark horse of the 2000 Seoul general election was Democratic Labor Party candidate Park Yong-jin (currently a member of the Democratic Party). Jo Soon-hyung, a politician well known as ‘Mr. Bitter Words,’ was a political veteran who entered the National Assembly in the 11th general election in 1981. Candidate Park attracted attention by putting up a strong fight against political giants.

The 17th general election in 2004 was interesting in the Gwanak-eul constituency election results. Lee Hae-chan, a politician who never lost a general election he contested, was regarded as the absolute strongman of Gwanak-gu. He is a representative kingmaker who led the election of three Democratic Party-affiliated presidents: Kim Dae-jung, Roh Moo-hyun, and Moon Jae-in.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Lee Hae-chan of the Uri Party won the 17th general election with 41.11% of the vote, but it was not an easy victory. Hanara Party candidate Kim Cheol-soo pursued with 33.32%, and Saecheonnyun Democratic Party candidate Yoo Jong-pil also performed well with 13.38%.

Other Uri Party candidates who ran in Seoul increased their vote shares based on support from the younger generation, but the situation was different in the Gwanak-eul constituency. Democratic Labor Party candidate Shin Jang-sik received 13,699 votes (11.33%), encroaching on the votes of young and progressive-leaning voters.

At that time, candidate Shin was only 32 years old. The fact that candidates Shin Jang-sik and Park Yong-jin, both around 30 years old, fought strongly against political giants was the result of a clear personal color combined with expectations for the future. This is a point that the Justice Party, which received below-expectation results in the 21st general election in 2020, should reflect on.