Conservatism in South Korea


Conservatism in South Korea is a political and social philosophy under the influences from Korean culture, from Confucianism, as well as from the Western culture due to the intense Westernisation of the country. South Korean conservative parties largely believe in stances such as a developmental state, economic liberalism, strong national defence, anti-communism, pro-communitarianism, pro-Western and pro-United States, giving assistance to anti-communist North Korean defectors, supporting international sanctions and opposing human rights abuses in North Korea.
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 modernisation and social stability. Since the mid-to-late 2010s, conservatives with right-wing populist tendencies have become more prominent in the public sphere. Hong Joon-pyo and Han Dong-hoon are notable examples of a right-wing populist in Korea.
Unlike conservatives in the Anglosphere, conservatives in South Korea often define themselves as liberals. Both groups fervently denounce anarchism, communism, socialism and liberalism and refer to themselves as anti-socialists. They are distinct from the general liberals in South Korea.

Values

Domestic issues

Conservatives are more likely to support upholding the National Security Act.
The anti-communist tendencies of South Korean conservatives has led to perceptions by progressives and liberals that conservatives fostering McCarthyist-like red scares among the public in order to score political points. 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. The North fired artillery into the Join Security Zone on the DMZ, which caused panic among South Korean electorates, benefiting the conservative party.

International issues

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 or softening it as well as pursuing a hostile policy towards Japan. However, there is a split between moderates and hardliners among conservatives, with the former emphasizing humanitarian issues related to North Korean defectors and identifying themselves as liberals, while the latter, in possible addition to the former, takes up the traditional aggressive emphasis on anti-communism and pro-Americanism.

History

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.
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".
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. 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's leader Kim Chong-in apologized for the Gwangju Uprising. 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 Uprising in the Memory of the World Register, and to petition for "reconsidering identifying North Korean Special Forces as the perpetrators of the GDM.

Conservative parties

The political party that once were ruling party are in bold. KIP is the exception for being a ruling party during Provisional Governmental era.

Mainstream parties

National Alliance for the Rapid Realization of Korean Independence Korea Nationalist Party Liberal Party Democratic Republican Party Democratic Justice Party Democratic Liberal Party → New Korea Party

Minor parties

Conservative media in South Korea

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.

Conservative presidents

Major conservative parties election results of South Korea

General elections

ElectionTotal seats wonTotal votesShare of votesOutcome of electionStatusElection leaderParty name
19481,755,54326.1new 55 seats; Minorityin governmentRhee Syng-manNARRKI
1950677,1739.7new 24 seats; Minorityin governmentYun Chi-youngKorea Nationalist Party
1950473,1536.841 seats; Minorityin governmentRhee Syng-manNational Association
195017,7450.3new 0 seats; Minorityin oppositionKorea Independence Party
19542,756,06136.8new 114 seats; Majorityin governmentRhee Syng-manLiberal Party
1954192,1092.611 seats; Minorityin governmentNational Association
195472,9231.021 seats; Minorityin governmentYun Chi-youngKorea Nationalist Party
19583,607,09242.112 seats; Majorityin governmentRhee Syng-manLiberal Party
195850,5680.63 seats; Minorityin governmentRhee Syng-manNational Association
1960249,9602.8124 seats; Minorityin oppositionRhee Syng-manLiberal Party
196026,6490.3new 0 seats; Minorityin oppositionKorea Independence Party
19633,112,98533.5%new 110 seats; Majorityin governmentPark Chung-heeDemocratic Republican Party
196312.1%extra-parliamentaryin opposition–Others
19675,494,92250.6%19 seats; Majorityin governmentPark Chung-heeDemocratic Republican Party
19678.8%extra-parliamentaryin opposition–Others
19715,460,58148.8%16 seats; Majorityin governmentPark Chung-heeDemocratic Republican Party
19734,251,75438.7%40 seats; Majorityin governmentPark Chung-heeDemocratic Republican Party
19784,695,99531.7%2 seats; Majorityin governmentPark Chung-heeDemocratic Republican Party
19815,776,62435.6%new 151 seats; Majorityin governmentChun Doo-hwanDemocratic Justice Party
19812,147,29313.2%new 15 seats; Minorityin oppositionKim Jong-cheolKorean National Party
19857,040,81134.0%3 seats; Majorityin governmentChun Doo-hwanDemocratic Justice Party
19851,828,7449.2%5 seats; Minorityin oppositionKim Jong-cheolKorean National Party
19886,675,49434.0%23 seats; Minorityin governmentRoh Tae-wooDemocratic Justice Party
19883,062,50615.6%new 35 seats; Minorityin opposition Kim Jong-pilNew Democratic Republican Party
19883,062,50615.6%new 35 seats; Minorityin government Kim Jong-pilNew Democratic Republican Party
198865,0320.3% 20 seats; extra-parliamentaryin oppositionLee Man-sup Korean National Party
19927,923,71938.5%new 149 seats; Minorityin governmentRoh Tae-wooDemocratic Liberal Party
19923,574,41917.4%new 31 seats; Minorityin oppositionChung Ju-yungUnited People's Party
19966,783,73034.5%new 139 seats; Minorityin government Kim Young-samNew Korea Party
19966,783,73034.5%new 139 seats; Minorityin opposition Kim Young-samNew Korea Party
19963,178,47416.2%new 50 seats; Minorityin opposition Kim Jong-pilUnited Liberal Democrats
19963,178,47416.2%new 50 seats; Minorityin government Kim Jong-pilUnited Liberal Democrats
20007,365,35939.0%new 133 seats; Minorityin oppositionLee Hoi-changGrand National Party
20001,859,3319.8%35 seats; Minorityin government Kim Jong-pilUnited Liberal Democrats
20001,859,3319.8%35 seats; Minorityin opposition Kim Jong-pilUnited Liberal Democrats
2000695,4233.7%new 3 seats; Minorityin oppositionCho SoonDemocratic People's Party
200077,4980.4%new 1 seats; Minorityin oppositionKim Yong-hwan
Heo Hwa-pyeong		New Korea Party of Hope
20003,9500.0%new 0 seats; extra-parliamentaryin oppositionHeo Kyung-youngDemocratic Republican Party
20047,613,66035.8%24 seats; Minorityin oppositionPark Geun-hyeGrand National Party
2004600,4622.8%6 seats; Minorityin oppositionKim Jong-pilUnited Liberal Democrats
20040.68%extra-parliamentaryin opposition–Others
20086,421,65437.5%32 seats; Majorityin governmentKang Jae-seopGrand National Party
20081,173,4636.8%new 18 seats; Minorityin governmentLee Hoi-changLiberty Forward Party
20082,258,75013.2%new 14 seats; Minorityin governmentSuh Chung-wonPro-Park Coalition
20129,130,65142.8%new 152 seats; Majorityin governmentPark Geun-hyeSaenuri Party
2012690,7543.2%13 seats; Minorityin governmentSim Dae-pyungLiberty Forward Party
20122.66%extra-parliamentaryin opposition–Others
20167,960,27242.8%30 seats; Minorityin government Kim Moo-sungSaenuri Party
20167,960,27242.8%30 seats; Minorityin opposition Kim Moo-sungSaenuri Party
20160.69%extra-parliamentaryin opposition–Others
202011,915,277
9,441,520 		41.45%
33.84% 		8 seats; Minorityin oppositionHwang Kyo-ahnUnited Future Party
Future Korea Party
20200.18%
2.06% 		extra-parliamentaryin opposition–Others
202413,179,769
10,395,264 		45.73%
36.67% 		5 seats; Minorityin governmentHan Dong-hoonPeople Power Party
People Future Party
2024195,147
1,025,775 		0.67%
3.62% 		5 seats; Minorityin oppositionLee Jun-seokReform Party
20240.53%
0.81% 		extra-parliamentaryin opposition–Others