Did Everyone Except MB and Moon Leave the Party?…The President's History of Leaving the Party [News Explanation]

(21) Rumors of Yoon Leaving Party Emerge from Ruling Faction
No Tae-woo, Kim Young-sam, Kim Dae-jung, Roh Moo-hyun Left Party During Term
Park Forced Expelled After Impeachment Crisis

There are rumors within political circles that President Yoon Seok-yeol might leave his party. Looking back at Korean political history, it is not unusual for a sitting president to leave their party. In fact, since the introduction of the direct presidential election system in 1987, only former Presidents Lee Myung-bak and Moon Jae-in have maintained their party affiliation throughout their terms.

The person who recently ignited the rumors about President Yoon’s potential departure is Hong Joon-pyo, the Mayor of Daegu. On the 26th of last month, Mayor Hong stated on social media (SNS), "If the ruling party fails to protect the president and becomes disorganized, President Yoon will have no choice but to make a serious decision," which political circles interpreted as a possible indication of leaving the party. The ruling party strongly denied the rumors, with statements such as "It is absolutely impossible and must not happen" (Hwang Woo-yeo, Emergency Committee Chairman) and "A vulgar and reckless remark" (Lee Sang-min, lawmaker).

There have been many cases in the past where a sitting president was non-affiliated with any party. Most instances of a sitting president leaving their party occurred toward the end of their term, usually due to declining approval ratings and conflicts related to regime continuation or rivalry with the next presidential candidate.

From the left, former President Moon Jae-in, former President Lee Myung-bak.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The first case of a sitting president leaving their party after democratization was former President Roh Tae-woo. Publicly, he cited "eliminating the malpractice of election interference" as the reason for leaving, but the real cause was conflict with the next presidential candidate from the same party. At that time, Roh was under political pressure due to allegations of preferential treatment in the mobile telecommunications business license granted to SK, a company related by marriage. This issue led to conflicts with Kim Young-sam, the then presidential candidate of the Democratic Liberal Party. Ultimately, Roh abruptly announced his departure from the party on September 18, 1992.

Former President Kim Young-sam chose to leave his party in November 1997, near the end of his term. This was after Lee Hoi-chang, the New Korea Party’s presidential candidate, strongly demanded Kim’s departure by throwing and burning dolls symbolizing Kim at party events. Former President Kim Dae-jung, who was embroiled in allegations related to his son’s corruption scandal, also left the Millennium Democratic Party in May 2002.

Former President Roh Moo-hyun left the Millennium Democratic Party in September 2003, just seven months into his term. At that time, the pro-Roh faction advocating reform and the eradication of regionalism split from the ruling party to form the Uri Party. Eight months after leaving, in May 2004, Roh rejoined the Uri Party as an honorary 'senior party member.'

Subsequent presidents did not leave their parties during their terms. However, they were not free from demands to leave. Former President Lee Myung-bak faced strong calls to leave from the pro-Park Geun-hye faction near the end of his term but refused. Former President Moon Jae-in, who maintained a high approval rating in the mid-40% range until shortly before leaving office, did not face demands to leave from his own party but did receive such calls from opposition figures like Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party.

Former President Park Geun-hye did not leave her party but was expelled in November 2017 following her impeachment, thus losing her party affiliation. Park was the founding member and the 'No. 1 party member' of the Saenuri Party, the predecessor of the Liberty Korea Party. However, after the Constitutional Court ruled on her impeachment in March of the same year, her political standing within the conservative camp weakened, and calls for her to leave the party surged both inside and outside the party. Initially, the party’s Ethics Committee recommended that Park voluntarily leave the party, but when no resignation letter was submitted, she was forcibly expelled according to party regulations.