The April 10, 2024 parliamentary election in South Korea was widely regarded as a vote on Yoon Suk Yeol’s first two years in office.
That being the situation, the country collectively expressed its powerful criticism.
With a relatively high turnout of 67 %, voters handed Yoon’s conservative People’s Power Party a defeat, with its share of the 300-seat National Assembly dropping from 114 to 108.
The Democratic Party, which won 175 seats in the popularly divided urban regions of Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi, managed to retain control of the opposition’s huge majority in the National Assembly. Voters also gave the majority of third-party candidates a unsatisfactory result, with the exception of the Restoration Korea Party, which campaigned against the DP in a more aggressive way, and the New Reform Party, which broke away from the judgement PPP earlier this year.
The election outcomes, in my opinion, will have an impact on Yoon’s foreign and domestic plan for the duration of his term as a social scientist with an emphasis on East Asia and foreign affairs.
Growing local stress
Yoon had hoped that the vote would break the social stifling he had experienced during his first two years in office.
Throughout that day, the criticism has held a parliamentary majority. Consequently, Yoon’s state has seen important parts of its agenda for training, work and pension reforms blocked. Yoon has even vetoed many bills passed by the opposition-controlled government.
But the vote saw the DP and other opposition parties earn 192 chairs, just short of a veto-proof, two-thirds lot. President Yoon is thus once more in the middle of a divided state for the duration of his word. In reality, he will be the only South Korean president whose party has never had a negative impact on the National Assembly during the five-year presidency.
A better political outcome for Yoon’s party would have bolstered the odds for the government’s legislative agenda on pressing local issues, such as addressing the country ’s declining population, high inflation and expanding health student enrollment, as well as soothing business requirements.
Otherwise, the Yoon state is more likely to be on the defense after the election. Kim Keon Hee’s reported property adjustment, as well as previous defence minister Lee Jong-sup’s claims that he allegedly influenced an earlier report into the drowning death of a Vietnamese marine, have been the subject of opposition parties ‘ pledges.
Although Yoon retains veto power, there is growing concern about whether or not ruling PPP assembly members will continue to support the president’s actions if and when the two investigations proceed.
Meanwhile, President Yoon’s prime minister, Han Duck-soo, announced his resignation after the assembly election. The National Assembly has the option of voting against Yoon’s replacement nominee, which may force him to choose a candidate who is acceptable to the opposition parties.
A trickier foreign policy climate
The presidency has more leeway in foreign affairs and national security under South Korea’s political system than in domestic affairs.
In this way, the Yoon government is likely to carry on its international strategy of developing trilateral partnerships with the United States. S. and Japan, building ties with NATO and striving to be a “global pivotal” state in the Asia-Pacific region.
Yoon has generally favored South Korea more toward the West during his first two years in power, but he has also been careful to stay away from direct conflict with China and Russia, both of whom are geographical neighbors and trade partners.
The Yoon government’s efforts to bolster ties with the US have been generally supported by the opposition-controlled National Assembly, which is a policy that is still admired by the South Korean public, but the same cannot be said about its efforts to boost relations with Japan.
Due in large part to Korea’s experiences under Japanese colonial rule, the Democratic Party and the Rebuilding Korea Party have criticized the idea of a closer relationship with Japan, whether through military exercises or through intelligence sharing.
The two opposition parties are more cautious than the Yoon government when engaging in geopolitical conflict, despite being generally welcoming of ties with the West. Specifically, Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung warned during the recent election campaign that South Korea should not become involved in the Russia-Ukraine war or China-Taiwan tensions.
The opposition may not be able to directly halt Yoon’s foreign policy, but they are likely to exert pressure on the president to address domestic political issues.
In addition, opposition parties will be urging the Yoon government to demonstrate the diplomatic successes the nation has had with its ties to Japan and the United States. Some voters may legitimately be asking why it has failed to deter North Korea’s continued military provocations if the goal of the strategic partnership with the United States and Japan is to ensure security in East Asia.
Opposition parties are likely to refer to the Yoon government’s foreign policy as one-sided “subservient diplomacy ” if it is unable to demonstrate diplomatic accomplishments. ”
Moon needs to demonstrate that his foreign policy has paid off in three years. The spring of 2027 will be South Korea’s next presidential election.
The president’s ability to navigate the domestic and international constraints brought on by the outcome of the parliamentary election could determine whether he can meet the political standards of a leader who will have to deal with a divided government or face an early, “lame-duck presidency, ” as some people believe. ”
North Greenville University’s assistant professor is Jin Eun Lee.
This article was republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.