Why Did the Justice Party's Proportional Representation Order Differ from the Voting Results? [Politics That Day]

Proportional Primary Vote Share Around Top 20 for Proportional No. 1 and 2
21st General Election, Youth Quota Allocated to Likely Winning Positions
22nd General Election, Suggests Yielding Top Positions to Green Party

Editor's Note"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, and figures.

The 2020 21st general election was a turning point in the history of progressive parties. It was the greatest opportunity to secure the most seats in the history of progressive politics. The election, held under the newly introduced semi-proportional representation system, created a favorable environment for third parties to enter the National Assembly.

At that time, the political spotlight was on the so-called "proportional representation coalition parties." The main questions were whether the Democratic Party of Korea and the Justice Party would join the coalition, and if so, how the proportional representation candidate rankings would be allocated. Some in the political sphere speculated that, depending on negotiations, the Justice Party could secure more than 15 seats.

The highest number of seats ever won by a progressive party was 13, achieved by the Unified Progressive Party in 2019. Securing more than 15 seats could raise expectations for forming a parliamentary negotiation group (which requires 20 or more seats). However, the Justice Party chose to run independently instead of joining the proportional representation coalition.

Ryu Ho-jeong, Justice Party member./Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

As the Justice Party was identified as a beneficiary of the semi-proportional representation system, interest in the proportional representation rankings grew. Receiving a high ranking virtually guaranteed election to the National Assembly, leading to fierce internal competition. On February 20, 2020, the Justice Party announced that 37 candidates had registered for the proportional representation primary.

With the introduction of the semi-proportional representation system, many politicians who had considered running in constituencies shifted their focus to proportional representation. This explains the large number of candidates participating in the Justice Party's proportional representation primary. At that time, the Justice Party conducted the primary using a policy jury and a citizen electoral college.

The process involved voting by "party members with voting rights" and the "citizen electoral college," converting the results into a weighted vote percentage to determine the final score. In that election, Bae Jin-gyo, former mayor of Namdong-gu, Incheon, and Kang Eun-mi, former Justice Party vice-chair, ranked first among male and female candidates with 9.54% and 6.83%, respectively.

Among men, following former Mayor Bae Jin-gyo, Shin Jang-sik, former chairman of the Special Committee on Judicial Reform, received 7.56%, Park Chang-jin, former Korean Air union official, 7.30%, and Yang Kyung-gyu, former chairman of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions Public Federation, 7.21%, forming the top ranks. However, Shin Jang-sik withdrew his candidacy and did not run in the 21st general election.

Among women, following former Vice-Chair Kang Eun-mi, Lee Eun-joo, policy director of the Seoul Metro union, received 6.32%, and Lee Ja-seum, former National Assembly member, 4.83%, ranking high.

On the 14th, Bae Jin-kyo, acting party leader of the Justice Party, is speaking at the party members' meeting held at the National Assembly.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Candidates with backgrounds as labor union officials or those with strong organizational mobilization and higher recognition performed relatively well compared to those with long-term progressive political experience since the Democratic Labor Party era.

The reason the Justice Party's proportional representation rankings attracted political attention was that they differed from usual political conventions. Typically, proportional representation rankings alternate by gender starting with number 1: odd numbers for women and even numbers for men. Thus, after candidates are decided, the order usually proceeds as female, male, female, male, and so on.

However, in the Justice Party, among the top five rankings?numbers 1, 2, 3, and 5?four were women. The party assigned numbers 1 and 2 as youth quotas, resulting in a different outcome from other parties' proportional representation rankings.

Bae Jin-gyo, who ranked first overall in the proportional representation primary including men and women, was assigned number 4 instead of number 2. Kang Eun-mi, who ranked first among female candidates, was assigned number 3.

The Justice Party placed Ryu Ho-jeong, head of publicity and promotion at the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions' Textile and Food Workers' Union, at number 1, and Jang Hye-young, a documentary filmmaker, at number 2 as youth quota proportional representation candidates. Both women received 1.76% and 1.62% of the vote, respectively, ranking around 20th among all competitors but were given the highest proportional representation rankings.

Jeonguidang's newly appointed Emergency Response Committee Chairman Kim Jun-woo is holding an inauguration press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office on the 15th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The Justice Party's proportional representation strategy was disrupted when the United Future Party (predecessor of the People Power Party) and the Democratic Party of Korea each participated in creating satellite parties.

In the 21st general election, the Justice Party secured only five proportional representation seats, fewer than initially expected. The confirmed Justice Party proportional representation members were Ryu Ho-jeong, Jang Hye-young, Kang Eun-mi, Bae Jin-gyo, and Lee Eun-joo, with four women and one man.

If the current semi-proportional representation system remains in place for the 22nd general election, the Justice Party's method of selecting proportional representation candidates and their rankings will again become a focal point of interest.

Regarding this, Kim Jun-woo, the newly appointed emergency committee chairman of the Justice Party, held a press conference on the 15th and stated, "Even if the number of seats allocated to the Justice Party decreases through an electoral coalition, we are prepared to boldly give up the top rankings on the proportional representation list."

This expresses the party's willingness to open the door to other political forces such as the Green Party to achieve an electoral coalition.

Whether the Justice Party succeeds in forming an electoral coalition and the process of finalizing proportional representation rankings are expected to be key points to watch in the 22nd general election.