The 86 Generation Retirement Debate Emerges as Ruling Party's Approval Rating Stalls

Before the Big Election, Voices for Innovation Within the Party Grow Louder

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] As Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, remains trapped in a box range in approval ratings, the party’s election committee has yet to find a clear breakthrough. Amid this situation, the ‘86 Retirement Theory’ has once again begun to surface.

The 86 Retirement Theory has appeared every time before major elections such as general elections. It is the idea that the 86 group (those who entered university in the 1980s and were born in the 1960s), who have been a major force within the party, should step down to allow for new blood. In the Democratic Party, representatives include Song Young-gil, Woo Sang-ho, Lee In-young, Minister of Unification, and Lim Jong-seok, former Chief of Staff to the President. They have held key positions such as party leader, floor leader, and ministerial posts.

Additionally, the recent proposal by the Democratic Party’s Party Innovation Committee to ban members with three or more terms from running in the same constituency has also been voiced by some within the party as something senior members should accept, thereby adding momentum to the 86 Retirement Theory. A Democratic Party official said, “The current innovation plan is insufficient. There are voices calling for more intense and painful reform,” adding, “The 86 Retirement Theory also emerged from this atmosphere.”

The external perspective was similar. Jo Jung-hoon, a member of the Transition Korea party, said on the radio the day before, “We need to look at the forces surrounding the candidate. If they want to break out of the box range, there needs to be a statement that no one from the 586 faction will be appointed.”

However, senior members expressed dissatisfaction with this. A multi-term lawmaker said about the proposal to ban members with three or more terms from running in the same constituency, “Senior members have their own roles, and trying to erase that is wrong. It makes no sense to impose conditions and tell them not to run,” expressing displeasure by adding, “Such measures only trivialize politics.”

There is also analysis that the retirement theory may not easily apply since the current leadership, including Song Young-gil, is part of the 86 group. On the 7th, Lee Yong-ho, a lawmaker who joined the People Power Party from the Democratic Party, criticized, “If you want to propose a ban on consecutive terms for members with three or more terms, the Song Young-gil leadership should first declare they will not run.”