Kyungshilyeon: “Resurrection of Earth Party may strengthen fandom politics” :: Sympathetic Media Newsis ::

Discussion held on the topic of ‘Is the revival of the Earth Party necessary?’

“The possibility of rich people getting involved in politics may increase”

There are also concerns about negative public perceptions, such as illegal political funding.

(Seoul = Newsis) Reporter Seong-ha Jo = As discussions on the ‘revival of district parties’ spread across both the ruling and opposition parties in the 22nd National Assembly, civic groups have raised the point that the revival of district parties could strengthen the party politics centered on existing strong supporters.

The civic group Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ) held a discussion on the topic, “Is the revival of district parties necessary?” at the CCEJ auditorium in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the morning of the 25th.

Cho Jin-man, a professor of political science and diplomacy at Deoksung Women’s University who attended the event, expressed concern, saying, “If offline spaces centered around the local party are used as a mechanism for a small number of hard-line supporters to gain real power, it is difficult to rule out the possibility that Korean politics will fall into even more turmoil.”

Professor Cho added, “We need to closely examine whether the revival of the Earth Party can become a mechanism to promote a change in party politics centered on strong supporters and fandom politics.”

Since the enactment of the Political Parties Act in 1962, district parties have been established as subordinate organizations of central political parties at the national constituency level, and were originally operated with the purpose of converging local public sentiment into central politics.

However, in 2002, when the scandal of illegal election funds received by the Grand National Party, the predecessor of the People Power Party, was revealed during the 16th presidential election, it was completely abolished in March 2004, with the stigma of being the center of illegal political funds. The current discussion is centered around reviving the basic party organization that was abolished at that time.

In this regard, Professor Cho pointed out that, “Even if we accept that the revival of the Earth Party is unlikely to lead to the same kind of money-based elections and organizational elections as in the past, the possibility that people with a lot of money or those who can collect a lot of donations will enter politics may increase.”

He also said, “The issue of the revival of the (district party) itself could be a factor that makes it difficult to change the electoral system centered on regional constituencies,” and advised, “Considering the current political situation, we need to fundamentally consider whether the revival of the district party is a system that needs to be introduced urgently for the reform of Korean politics.”

Kim Dong-won, a professor of public administration at Incheon University, also expressed concern over the negative effects of local chapters, saying that they could become spaces for only some members.

Professor Kim said, “I question whether (the revival of the Earth Party) is truly an opportunity for newcomers and politicians outside the party,” and added, “I am concerned that it will only become a space for some party members or those who want to build connections, and a distribution channel for political funds, rather than for ordinary people who are busy making ends meet.”

He also cited the results of a telephone survey of 1,005 men and women aged 18 or older conducted by four polling companies, including Embrain Public, from June 10 to June 17, and pointed out that “only 20% of respondents said they were ‘in favor’ of the revival of the local party,” and that “the public’s perception of the revival of the local party is negative due to negative traumas such as money, envelopes of money, and standing in line.”

There were also claims that a system should be established to ensure procedural operational transparency prior to the revival of the Earth Party.

Lee Jeong-jin, an investigator at the National Assembly Research Service, said, “In the discussion on the revival of district parties, what is important is whether the district parties can be operated transparently.” He added, “In the past, district party chairs were responsible for a significant portion of expenses, and there were problems with the concentration of power in the chairperson’s hands and political corruption, so transparency needs to be guaranteed.”

He added, “In addition to providing political funding, the accounting treatment and reporting procedures for district parties should be specified by law to ensure operational transparency.”

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