With a sense of crisis hanging over the ruling party after its crushing defeat in the general elections, the emergency leadership continued to make desperate moves Friday to normalize party operations and regain control, such as by inviting all defectors back to the party.　　Following a decision late Thursday evening to embrace “all that share the party‘s conservative platform,” the party’s new interim leader Rep. Won Yoo-chul vowed to elect a new leadership earlier than scheduled next month to

Politics April 15, 2016

Over the past decades, South Korea’s deep-rooted regionalism has been considered the source of entrenched animosity and ideological standoffs encouraged by politicians who have manipulated sentiment in their favor. But Wednesday’s election seemed to show that such decades-old tactics might no longer work for the established parties, with the electorate in liberal and conservative strongholds casting their ballots for candidates running across the regional divide.In the conservative strongholds o

Politics April 14, 2016

Sixty-one-year-old Cho Dae-hyeong had never missed out on his right to vote in an election. The Vietnam War veteran is an advocate of a hawkish stance toward North Korea and has cast his ballot for conservative parties since the 1987 elections.  Saenuri Party leaders, including floor leader Rep. Won Yoo-chul (center), watch the exit polls Wednesday at the party headquarters in Yeouido. (Yonhap)But this time around, he decided to exercise his right “not to vote” — a measure he believes would puni

Politics April 13, 2016

The opposition parties’ surprisingly solid performance against the ruling Saenuri Party in Wednesday’s general election signaled an upheaval in the current two-party system and a significant setback for the incumbent administration.Exit polls and early predictions showed the 20th National Assembly to be outnumbered by the opposition party lawmakers for the first time in 16 years. The three-party system will be the first in 20 years.The result, in particular, gave a landmark victory for the fledg

National April 13, 2016

When 28-year-old Yoon Cheol-seung looked to the Internet during the 2012 presidential election to predict who would win the contest, the political science graduate student thought liberal candidate Moon Jae-in would beat his conservative counterpart Park Geun-hye by a fair margin.“As far as I remember, it seemed like online communities and Internet portals were filled with supporters of the liberal candidate,” said Yoon. “After hearing the news that the turnout rate was higher than the previous

Politics April 12, 2016

Four years ago, when South Korea last voted in a new parliament, the political platforms were dominated by welfare policies amid growing inequality and social polarization.But the mood on the campaign trail for the general election appeared to be different this time: The rival parties either scaled back the scope of their welfare pledges or glossed over how they would fund the initiatives. Many of the policies also resemble one another, making them less of a factor for voters in casting their su

Politics April 11, 2016

GWANGJU -- Some 20 kilometers from downtown Gwangju, a southwestern city of South Korea, lies the May 18 national cemetery, resting place to nearly 700 souls who lost their lives in the violent crackdown of the pro-democracy demonstration in 1980. The birthplace of the nation’s modern democracy was thrust back into the spotlight Friday by a surprise visit from Rep. Moon Jae-in, the former leader of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea. Moon showed up alongside Kim Hong-gul, the third son of

Politics April 10, 2016

Whenever former military officer Kim Jung-wook receives a letter from the Army requiring him to join a military drill as reservist, the 28-year-old office worker is nervous about how to bring it up with his boss. “Sometimes I feel like I’m requesting a permission for time off,” Kim told The Korea Herald “Though no one has ever accused me of it, I am worried that my boss and teammates wouldn’t appreciate it because I am the only one who has served in the military from the team,” he said. He is on

Politics April 8, 2016

It is hard to feel that the parliamentary election is just around the corner for Lee Jae-jung, a 32-year-old office worker who lives in an affluent apartment complex in Dogok-dong, Gangnam in Seoul.　“I have never seen a campaign banner for political parties or a vehicle that carries candidates blasting their campaign songs and election pledges,” said Lee. “It is kind of weird because I can see those banners and vehicles a lot in other neighborhoods,” he said. 　Around the complex crowded with hig

Politics April 7, 2016

The leader of the main opposition party vowed Wednesday to attract investment from South Korea’s biggest conglomerate Samsung Electronics in its traditional political stronghold, in a bid to gain back the party’s waning popularity ahead of the parliamentary election next Wednesday.The Minjoo Party of Korea chairman Kim Chong-in pledged to invite the tech giant’s auto business for electric and autonomous cars, and create more than 20,000 jobs over five years in the nation’s southern city of Gwang

Politics April 6, 2016

YONGIN, Gyeonggi Province -- Having been born and raised in Seoul’s most affluent district of Gangnam-gu until the age of 17, Heo Seong-wook moved to the district of Suji in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, in 2006 with his family.Explaining the move was to continue enjoying the Gangnam lifestyle until they saved enough to move back to the right-wing bedrock in southern Seoul, the 27-year-old graduate student was not hesitant to express his family’s conservative political disposition.“Our family think

Politics April 5, 2016

Located east of downtown Los Angeles -- widely considered a liberal stronghold -- Claremont Mckenna College is often considered more conservative than its neighbors, given its middle-of-the road faculty members and prominent alumni including politicians from the Republican Party. But the CMC president Hiram Chodosh highlighted that “the balance” in the breakdown of its faculty, staff and students allows for a more effective liberal arts education for graduates in challenging various transformati

Social Affairs April 4, 2016

The main parties’ leaders are seeking to adopt a casual approach on the campaign trail as part of last-ditch efforts to resonate with the general population and attract more supporters ahead of the parliamentary race. With the parties’ public debate and media appearances dedicated to elaboration on their election pledges and policy agendas, a less formal and easygoing approach appears to be the norm on the ground where the politicians meet with voters face-to-face.　Saenuri chairman Rep. Kim Moo-

Politics April 4, 2016

DAEGU -- Wearing dark suits and red jackets, men and women, mostly between their 40s and 60s, gathered in front of a building in Suseong district, Daegu, one of the most affluent areas in South Korea’s third biggest city.Their gathering appeared to resemble a friendly reunion of old friends as they addressed one another by their first names or terms of endearment such as “brother” and “sister.” They were supporters of President Park Geun-hye and the ruling Saenuri Party that had volunteered to c

Politics April 1, 2016