Conservatism in South Korea is a political and social philosophy characterized by Korean culture and from Confucianism. South Korean conservative parties largely believe in stances such as a developmental state, pro-business, opposition to trade unions, strong national defense, anti-communism, pro-communitarianism, pro-United States and pro-European in foreign relations, pay attention on North Korean defectors, sanctions and human rights, and recently free trade, economic liberalism, and neoliberalism.
Starting from the dictatorship of Syngman Rhee, South Korean conservatism has been influenced from the military dictatorships of Park Chung-hee and Chun Doo-hwan. In domestic policy, South Korean conservatism has a strong elitist streak and promotes rapid modernization and social stability.[1] Since the mid-to-late 2010s, conservatives with right-wing populist tendencies have become more prominent in the public sphere.
Unlike conservatives in the United States, conservatives in South Korea often define themselves as liberals. Both groups fervently denounce socialism and refer to themselves as anti-socialists. They are distinct from the general liberals in South Korea.[2] [3]
South Korea's conservative philosophy is derived in part from the traditional East Asian values of communitarianism and Confucian social conservatism, along with modern influences such as economic neoliberalism, leading to support for economic liberalism and opposition to welfare states. However, given the influence of the Park Chung-hee era on conservative's thinking, they also advocate for certain forms of economic interventionism which they think critical to maintain this system.
They are also more likely to support upholding the National Security Act.[4] Because of this, conservatives are less likely to solely prioritise ethnic nationalism, with their nationalism being a mixture of it with civic nationalism, making them more receptive to multiculturalism and immigration than liberals. Modern conservatives are generally against LGBT rights and feminist activism.
The anti-communist tendencies of South Korean conservatives has led to perceptions by progressives and liberals that conservatives foster McCarthyist-like red scares among the public.[5] [6] This includes an incident before the 1996 Legislative elections, where conservative lawmakers were arrested for secretly meeting with North Korean agents in Beijing to seek North's help in manipulating the outcome of the election in exchange for payoffs.[7] The North fired artillery into the Join Security Zone on the DMZ, which caused panic among South Korean electorates, benefiting the conservative party.
Conservatism in South Korea is fervently anti-communist. South Korean conservatives oppose warming relations with North Korea, and therefore wish to strengthen the US-ROK alliance in order to improve South Korean security, in contrast to South Korean progressives who prefer détente with North Korea through the Sunshine Policy along with either maintaining the US-ROK alliance as is or softening it.[8] However, there is a split between moderates and hardliners among conservatives, with the former emphasizing issues related to North Korean defectors and identifying themselves as liberals, while the latter takes up the traditional aggressive emphasis on anti-communism and pro-Americanism.
Before democratisation in 1987, South Korean conservatives were characterised not only by anti-communism, but also authoritarianism and developmentalism. After 1987, there was a trend in conservatism towards rebranding as the New Right and focusing on economic neoliberalism. In addition, conservatives adapted to the new democratic environment by increasing the number of conservative activist groups and online presence.
Following 1987, the South Korean public became less interested in issues such as class and politics than in the past, and thus, overall, both progressives and conservatives shifted their messaging; the former shifted from radical politics to supporting the likes of social democracy and welfare expansion, whereas the latter emphasised neoliberal values such as "freedom, capabilities, and competition of individuals".
The large city of Daegu, although a site of radical politics in the earlier postwar era, was transformed under the rule of Daegu-born Park Chung-hee and today has been called a "citadel of conservatism" in South Korea.[9] The southeastern region of the country, once collectively known as Gyeongsang, is where Daegu is found and this entire region is known for being particularly conservative, as can be seen in modern election results.
Following the success of Lee Myung-bak in the 2007 presidential election, some viewed it as a return to conservatism in South Korea after a decade of rule under progressive presidents, although an analysis by David C. Kang let him to argue that it was a turn towards centrism among the populace, given Lee's pragmatic business-minded tendencies, rather than traditional "arch-conservatism" of candidate Lee Hoi-chang. For instance, Lee pursued a more constructive and realistic foreign policy relationship with China in contrast to what more strident anti-communists would prefer, indicating the modern unpracticality of demonising China, even among conservative heads of state. During the campaigning seasons, Lee's aides also worked to present his approach as being "neither left nor right".[10]
Jeong Tae-heon, a professor of Korean history at Korea University has expressed concerns that disputes over the term Jayuminjujuui reflect a strong conservative bias reacting against North Korea's political ideologies, similar to political views seen in 1950.[11] The term liberal democracy as used by South Korean conservatives has a different connotation than in the Anglosphere, as its reflects the anti-communism and state-guided economic develop of the pre-1987 era.
In 2020, People Power Party (South Korea)'s leader Kim Chong-in apologized for the Gwangju Democratization Movement.[12] But some conservative citizen groups such as the Korean Council for Restoration National Identity and American and Korean Friendship National Council protested at UNESCO headquarters in Paris in May 2011 to prevent inscribing the records of the Gwangju Democratization Movement in the Memory of the World Register, and to petition for "reconsidering identifying North Korean Special Forces as the perpetrators of the GDM.[13]
The political party that once were ruling party are in bold. KIP is the exception for being a ruling party during Provisional Governmental era.
The Chojoongdong media cartel wields the largest political influence in the South Korean political scene through newspaper and other print publications. The three media cartels have been criticized for fabricating stories against North Korea to support conservative rhetoric.
| Election | Total seats won | Total votes | Share of votes | Outcome of election | Status | Election leader | Party Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | 1,755,543 | 26.1 | 55 seats; Minority | in government | Rhee Syng-man | NARRKI | |
| 1950 | 677,173 | 9.7 | 24 seats; Minority | in government | Yun Chi-young | Korea Nationalist Party | |
| 473,153 | 6.8 | 41 seats; Minority | in government | Rhee Syng-man | National Association | ||
| 17,745 | 0.3 | 0 seats; Minority | in opposition | Korea Independence Party | |||
| 1954 | 2,756,061 | 36.8 | 114 seats; Majority | in government | Rhee Syng-man | Liberal Party | |
| 192,109 | 2.6 | 11 seats; Minority | in government | National Association | |||
| 72,923 | 1.0 | 21 seats; Minority | in government | Yun Chi-young | Korea Nationalist Party | ||
| 1958 | 3,607,092 | 42.1 | 12 seats; Majority | in government | Rhee Syng-man | Liberal Party | |
| 50,568 | 0.6 | 3 seats; Minority | in government | Rhee Syng-man | National Association | ||
| 1960 | 249,960 | 2.8 | 124 seats; Minority | in opposition | Rhee Syng-man | Liberal Party | |
| 26,649 | 0.3 | 0 seats; Minority | in opposition | Korea Independence Party | |||
| 1963 | 3,112,985 | 33.5% | 110 seats; Majority | in government | Park Chung-hee | Democratic Republican Party | |
| 12.1% | extra-parliamentary | in opposition | – | Others | |||
| 1967 | 5,494,922 | 50.6% | 19 seats; Majority | in government | Park Chung-hee | Democratic Republican Party | |
| 8.8% | extra-parliamentary | in opposition | – | Others | |||
| 1971 | 5,460,581 | 48.8% | 16 seats; Majority | in government | Park Chung-hee | Democratic Republican Party | |
| 1973 | 4,251,754 | 38.7% | 40 seats; Majority | in government | Park Chung-hee | Democratic Republican Party | |
| 1978 | 4,695,995 | 31.7% | 2 seats; Majority | in government | Park Chung-hee | Democratic Republican Party | |
| 1981 | 5,776,624 | 35.6% | 151 seats; Majority | in government | Chun Doo-hwan | Democratic Justice Party | |
| 2,147,293 | 13.2% | 15 seats; Minority | in opposition | Kim Jong-cheol | Korean National Party | ||
| 1985 | 7,040,811 | 34.0% | 3 seats; Majority | in government | Chun Doo-hwan | Democratic Justice Party | |
| 1,828,744 | 9.2% | 5 seats; Minority | in opposition | Kim Jong-cheol | Korean National Party | ||
| 1988 | 6,675,494 | 34.0% | 23 seats; Minority | in government | Roh Tae-woo | Democratic Justice Party | |
| 3,062,506 | 15.6% | 35 seats; Minority | in opposition (1988-1990) | Kim Jong-pil | New Democratic Republican Party | ||
| in government (1990-1993) | |||||||
| 65,032 | 0.3% | 20 seats; extra-parliamentary | in opposition | Lee Man-sup | Korean National Party | ||
| 1992 | 7,923,719 | 38.5% | 149 seats; Minority | in government | Roh Tae-woo | Democratic Liberal Party | |
| 3,574,419 | 17.4% | 31 seats; Minority | in opposition | Chung Ju-yung | United People's Party | ||
| 1996 | 6,783,730 | 34.5% | 139 seats; Minority | in government (1996-1998) | Kim Young-sam | New Korea Party | |
| in opposition (1998-2000) | |||||||
| 3,178,474 | 16.2% | 50 seats; Minority | in opposition (1996-1998) | Kim Jong-pil | United Liberal Democrats | ||
| in government (1998-2000) | |||||||
| 2000 | 7,365,359 | 39.0% | 133 seats; Minority | in opposition | Lee Hoi-chang | Grand National Party | |
| 1,859,331 | 9.8% | 35 seats; Minority | in government (2000-2001) | Kim Jong-pil | United Liberal Democrats | ||
| in opposition (2001-2004) | |||||||
| 695,423 | 3.7% | 3 seats; Minority | in opposition | Cho Soon | Democratic People's Party | ||
| 77,498 | 0.4% | 1 seats; Minority | in opposition | Kim Yong-hwan Heo Hwa-pyeong | New Korea Party of Hope | ||
| 3,950 | 0.0% | 0 seats; extra-parliamentary | in opposition | Heo Kyung-young | Democratic Republican Party | ||
| 2004 | 7,613,660 | 35.8% | 24 seats; Minority | in opposition | Park Geun-hye | Grand National Party | |
| 600,462 | 2.8% | 6 seats; Minority | in opposition | Kim Jong-pil | United Liberal Democrats | ||
| 0.68% | extra-parliamentary | in opposition | – | Others | |||
| 2008 | 6,421,654 | 37.5% | 32 seats; Majority | in government | Kang Jae-seop | Grand National Party | |
| 1,173,463 | 6.8% | 18 seats; Minority | in government | Lee Hoi-chang | Liberty Forward Party | ||
| 2,258,750 | 13.2% | 14 seats; Minority | in government | Suh Chung-won | Pro-Park Coalition | ||
| 2012 | 9,130,651 | 42.8% | 152 seats; Majority | in government | Park Geun-hye | Saenuri Party | |
| 690,754 | 3.2% | 13 seats; Minority | in government | Sim Dae-pyung | Liberty Forward Party | ||
| 2.66% | extra-parliamentary | in opposition | – | Others | |||
| 2016 | 7,960,272 | 42.8% | 30 seats; Minority | in government (2016-2017) | Kim Moo-sung | Saenuri Party | |
| in opposition (2017-2020) | |||||||
| 0.69% | extra-parliamentary | in opposition | – | Others | |||
| 2020 | 11,915,277 (Constituency) 9,441,520 (Party-list PR) | 41.45% (Constituency) 33.84% (Party-list PR) | 8 seats; Minority | in opposition | Hwang Kyo-ahn | United Future Party (Constituency) Future Korea Party (Party-list PR) | |
| 0.18% (FPTP) 2.06% (PR) | extra-parliamentary | in opposition | – | Others | |||
| 2024 | 13,179,769 (Constituency) 10,395,264 (Party-list PR) | 45.73% (Constituency) 36.67% (Party-list PR) | 5 seats; Minority | in government | Han Dong-hoon | People Power Party (Constituency) People Future Party (Party-list PR) | |
| 0.53% (FPTP) 0.81% (PR) | extra-parliamentary | in opposition | – | Others |
| Election | Provincial legislature | Municipal mayor | Municipal legislature | Party Name | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Democratic Liberal Party | |||||
| United Liberal Democrats | ||||||
| 1998 | Grand National Party | |||||
| United Liberal Democrats | ||||||
| 2002 | Grand National Party | |||||
| United Liberal Democrats | ||||||
| 2006 | Grand National Party | |||||
| 2010 | Grand National Party | |||||
| Liberty Forward Party | ||||||
| Pro-Park Coalition | ||||||
| 2014 | Saenuri Party | |||||
| 2018 | Liberty Korea Party | |||||
| 2022 | People Power Party |