[Insight & Opinion] South Korea in 2024: A State of Political Absence Emergency

The Century-Defining Global AI Revolution and the New Cold War
Hopeful Cooperation to Overcome the Challenges of Our Era

The article titled ‘2024年の 日本’ published in Japan’s ‘X’ pointed out the shameful state of Japan, which has withered over the ‘lost 30 years’ by ignoring reforms, drawing considerable attention from South Korean media as well. So, what about ‘South Korea in 2024’?

According to the Bank of Korea, in 2023, South Korea’s per capita national income ranked 6th among countries with populations over 50 million, surpassing Japan. However, the elderly poverty rate in South Korea is 40%, double that of poverty-stricken Japan (20%). Moreover, the Bank of Korea has warned that without revolutionary changes in fertility rates and productivity, the Korean economy is expected to enter a negative growth phase in the 2040s. In particular, the total fertility rate in the first quarter of 2024 was 0.76, the number of births in the first quarter decreased by 18% compared to the same period in 2020, and the proportion of the population aged 65 and over is projected to rise from 20% in 2025 to 30% in 2036.

Domestically, a low birthrate, aging population, and low-growth society are approaching, while globally, a century-defining technological revolution and a new Cold War are underway in a rapidly changing era. Despite this, what is South Korea preparing now to face the future? The Yoon Seok-yeol administration started with the pledge of three major reforms in pensions, labor, and education, but these reforms have made no progress and are facing difficulties with medical reform. In particular, pension reform failed due to a lack of political will and the inability to reach consensus between ruling and opposition parties. In short, South Korea in 2024 is in a state of comprehensive political absence.

Looking back, the people who chose Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol as president to oust the Democratic Party government expressed their anger at the Yoon administration ignoring public sentiment in the 22nd general election just two years later, resulting in a paradoxical political structure of an overwhelming opposition-majority National Assembly. Yet, the Yoon administration and the People Power Party have shown no fundamental change. According to a Gallup Korea public opinion poll in the second week of June, the approval rating for the president’s job performance was 26%, while the disapproval rating reached 66%. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party, which had won a landslide victory in the April 22nd general election, saw its support drop to 27%, below the People Power Party’s 30%.

The poll results suggest that the majority of the public supports no political party and is disappointed with the lack of political leadership across both ruling and opposition parties. The fact that the 22nd National Assembly opened solely with the opposition for the first time in constitutional history and has failed to agree on the organization of the Assembly even after more than 20 days foreshadows a difficult future for the 22nd National Assembly. If this continues, like the 21st National Assembly, the 22nd is unlikely to properly handle the urgent three major reforms needed to prepare South Korea’s future.

In 2024, South Korea is filled with the anger of citizens disappointed in politics. While the people grow weary of the daily hardships caused by low growth and polarization, they lose hope due to the absence of politics they can trust and rely on.

A country that chooses inclusive politics that also promotes economic growth develops, whereas a country that chooses biased politics that hinder economic growth regresses. Both the ruling and opposition parties remain focused on securing vested interests only among their own supporters, leaving no future for South Korean politics in 2024. The political absence emergency is a more serious national issue than the demographic national emergency.

Therefore, the People Power Party and the Democratic Party must elect party leaders commensurate with this political emergency. If both parties fail to elect capable leaders who can demonstrate hopeful politics through cooperation to solve the era’s challenges, the public will only become more disappointed in politics, and the angry citizens will surely judge such parties harshly.

Kim Dong-won, Former Visiting Professor at Korea University

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.