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Conservatism in South Korea is a political and social philosophy under the influences fromKorean culture, fromConfucianism, as well as from theWestern culture due to the intenseWesternisation of the country. South Korean conservative parties largely believe in stances such as adevelopmental state,economic liberalism, strongnational defence,anti-communism, pro-communitarianism, pro-Western and pro-United States, giving assistance to anti-communistNorth Korean defectors, supportinginternational sanctions and opposinghuman rights abuses in North Korea.
Starting from the dictatorship ofSyngman Rhee, South Korean conservatism has been influenced from themilitary dictatorships ofPark Chung-hee andChun Doo-hwan. Indomestic policy, South Korean conservatism has a strongelitist streak and promotes rapidmodernisation and social stability.[1] Since the mid-to-late 2010s, conservatives withright-wing populist tendencies have become more prominent in the public sphere.Hong Joon-pyo andHan Dong-hoon are notable examples of a right-wing populist in Korea.
Unlike conservatives in the Anglosphere, conservatives in South Korea often define themselves asliberals. Both groups fervently denounceanarchism,communism,socialism andliberalism and refer to themselves asanti-socialists. They are distinct from the generalliberals in South Korea.[2][3][4]
Conservatives are more likely to support upholding theNational Security Act.[5]
Theanti-communist tendencies of South Korean conservatives has led to perceptions by progressives and liberals that conservatives fosteringMcCarthyist-likered scares among the public in order to score political points.[6][7][clarification needed] 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.[8] The North fired artillery into the Join Security Zone on the DMZ, which caused panic among South Korean electorates, benefiting the conservative party.[8]
Conservatism in South Korea is ferventlyanti-communist. South Korean conservatives oppose warmingrelations withNorth Korea, and therefore wish to strengthen theUS-ROK alliance in order to improve South Korean security, in contrast to South Korean progressives who preferdétente with North Korea through theSunshine Policy along with either maintaining the US-ROK alliance or softening it as well as pursuing a hostile policy towards Japan.[9] However, there is a split between moderates and hardliners among conservatives, with the former emphasizing humanitarian issues related toNorth Korean defectors and identifying themselves asliberals, while the latter, in possible addition to the former, takes up the traditional aggressive emphasis on anti-communism andpro-Americanism.[5]
Before democratisation in 1987, South Korean conservatives were characterised not only by anti-communism, but alsoauthoritarianism anddevelopmentalism. After 1987, there was a trend in conservatism towards rebranding as theNew Right and focusing on economicneoliberalism. In addition, conservatives adapted to the new democratic environment by increasing the number of conservative activist groups and online presence.[5]
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 ofsocial democracy andwelfare expansion, whereas the latter emphasised neoliberal values such as "freedom, capabilities, and competition of individuals".[5]
The large city ofDaegu, although a site of radical politics in the earlier postwar era, was transformed under the rule of Daegu-bornPark Chung-hee and today has been called a "citadel of conservatism" in South Korea.[10]
Following the success ofLee Myung-bak in the2007 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 candidateLee Hoi-chang. For instance, Lee pursued a more constructive and realistic foreign policyrelationship 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".[11]
Jeong Tae-heon, a professor of Korean history atKorea University has expressed concerns that disputes over the termJayuminjujuui (Korean: 자유민주주의;lit. "liberal democracy" or "free and democracy") reflect a strong conservative bias reacting against North Korea's political ideologies, similar to political views seen in 1950.[12] The termliberal democracy as used by South Korean conservatives has a different connotation than in theAnglosphere, as its reflects the anti-communism and state-guided economic develop of the pre-1987 era.[5]
In 2020,People Power Party's leaderKim Chong-in apologized for theGwangju Uprising.[13] But some conservative citizen groups such as theKorean Council for Restoration National Identity andAmerican and Korean Friendship National Council protested atUNESCO headquarters inParis in May 2011 to prevent inscribing the records of the Gwangju Uprising in theMemory of the World Register, and to petition for "reconsidering identifyingNorth Korean Special Forces as the perpetrators of the GDM.[14]
The political party that once wereruling party are inbold.KIP is the exception for being a ruling party duringProvisional Governmental era.
TheChojoongdong 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.
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| Election | Total seats won | Total votes | Share of votes | Outcome of election | Status | Election leader | Party Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | 55 / 200 | 1,755,543 | 26.1 | new 55 seats;Minority | in government | Rhee Syng-man | NARRKI |
| 1950 | 24 / 210 | 677,173 | 9.7 | new 24 seats;Minority | in government | Yun Chi-young | Korea Nationalist Party |
14 / 210 | 473,153 | 6.8 |  41 seats;Minority | in government | Rhee Syng-man | National Association | |
0 / 210 | 17,745 | 0.3 | new 0 seats;Minority | in opposition | Korea Independence Party | ||
| 1954 | 114 / 203 | 2,756,061 | 36.8 | new 114 seats;Majority | in government | Rhee Syng-man | Liberal Party |
3 / 210 | 192,109 | 2.6 | 11 seats;Minority | in government | National Association | ||
3 / 203 | 72,923 | 1.0 | 21 seats;Minority | in government | Yun Chi-young | Korea Nationalist Party | |
| 1958 | 126 / 233 | 3,607,092 | 42.1 |  12 seats;Majority | in government | Rhee Syng-man | Liberal Party |
0 / 233 | 50,568 | 0.6 | 3 seats;Minority | in government | Rhee Syng-man | National Association | |
| 1960 | 2 / 233 | 249,960 | 2.8 | 124 seats;Minority | in opposition | Rhee Syng-man | Liberal Party |
0 / 233 | 26,649 | 0.3 | new 0 seats;Minority | in opposition | Korea Independence Party | ||
| 1963 | 110 / 175 | 3,112,985 | 33.5% | new 110 seats;Majority | in government | Park Chung-hee | Democratic Republican Party |
0 / 175 | 12.1% | extra-parliamentary | in opposition | – | Others | ||
| 1967 | 129 / 175 | 5,494,922 | 50.6% | 19 seats;Majority | in government | Park Chung-hee | Democratic Republican Party |
0 / 175 | 8.8% | extra-parliamentary | in opposition | – | Others | ||
| 1971 | 113 / 204 | 5,460,581 | 48.8% | 16 seats;Majority | in government | Park Chung-hee | Democratic Republican Party |
| 1973 | 146 / 219 | 4,251,754 | 38.7% | 40 seats;Majority | in government | Park Chung-hee | Democratic Republican Party |
| 1978 | 145 / 231 | 4,695,995 | 31.7% | 2 seats;Majority | in government | Park Chung-hee | Democratic Republican Party |
| 1981 | 151 / 276 | 5,776,624 | 35.6% | new 151 seats;Majority | in government | Chun Doo-hwan | Democratic Justice Party |
25 / 276 | 2,147,293 | 13.2% | new 15 seats;Minority | in opposition | Kim Jong-cheol | Korean National Party | |
| 1985 | 148 / 276 | 7,040,811 | 34.0% | 3 seats;Majority | in government | Chun Doo-hwan | Democratic Justice Party |
20 / 276 | 1,828,744 | 9.2% | 5 seats;Minority | in opposition | Kim Jong-cheol | Korean National Party | |
| 1988 | 125 / 299 | 6,675,494 | 34.0% | 23 seats;Minority | in government | Roh Tae-woo | Democratic Justice Party |
35 / 299 | 3,062,506 | 15.6% | new 35 seats;Minority | in opposition (1988-1990) | Kim Jong-pil | New Democratic Republican Party | |
| in government (1990-1993) | |||||||
0 / 299 | 65,032 | 0.3% | 20 seats;extra-parliamentary | in opposition | Lee Man-sup | Korean National Party | |
| 1992 | 149 / 299 | 7,923,719 | 38.5% | new 149 seats;Minority | in government | Roh Tae-woo | Democratic Liberal Party |
31 / 299 | 3,574,419 | 17.4% | new 31 seats;Minority | in opposition | Chung Ju-yung | United People's Party | |
| 1996 | 139 / 299 | 6,783,730 | 34.5% | new 139 seats;Minority | in government (1996-1998) | Kim Young-sam | New Korea Party |
| in opposition (1998-2000) | |||||||
50 / 299 | 3,178,474 | 16.2% | new 50 seats;Minority | in opposition (1996-1998) | Kim Jong-pil | United Liberal Democrats | |
| in government (1998-2000) | |||||||
| 2000 | 133 / 273 | 7,365,359 | 39.0% | new 133 seats;Minority | in opposition | Lee Hoi-chang | Grand National Party |
17 / 273 | 1,859,331 | 9.8% | 35 seats;Minority | in government (2000-2001) | Kim Jong-pil | United Liberal Democrats | |
| in opposition (2001-2004) | |||||||
3 / 273 | 695,423 | 3.7% | new 3 seats;Minority | in opposition | Cho Soon | Democratic People's Party | |
1 / 273 | 77,498 | 0.4% | new 1 seats;Minority | in opposition | Kim Yong-hwan Heo Hwa-pyeong | New Korea Party of Hope | |
0 / 273 | 3,950 | 0.0% | new 0 seats;extra-parliamentary | in opposition | Heo Kyung-young | Democratic Republican Party | |
| 2004 | 121 / 299 | 7,613,660 | 35.8% | 24 seats;Minority | in opposition | Park Geun-hye | Grand National Party |
4 / 299 | 600,462 | 2.8% | 6 seats;Minority | in opposition | Kim Jong-pil | United Liberal Democrats | |
0 / 299 | 144,106
| 0.68% | extra-parliamentary | in opposition | – | Others | |
| 2008 | 153 / 299 | 6,421,654 | 37.5% | 32 seats;Majority | in government | Kang Jae-seop | Grand National Party |
18 / 299 | 1,173,463 | 6.8% | new 18 seats;Minority | in government | Lee Hoi-chang | Liberty Forward Party | |
14 / 299 | 2,258,750 | 13.2% | new 14 seats;Minority | in government | Suh Chung-won | Pro-Park Coalition | |
| 2012 | 152 / 300 | 9,130,651 | 42.8% | new 152 seats;Majority | in government | Park Geun-hye | Saenuri Party |
5 / 300 | 690,754 | 3.2% | 13 seats;Minority | in government | Sim Dae-pyung | Liberty Forward Party | |
0 / 300 | 2.66% | extra-parliamentary | in opposition | – | Others | ||
| 2016 | 122 / 300 | 7,960,272 | 42.8% | 30 seats;Minority | in government (2016-2017) | Kim Moo-sung | Saenuri Party |
| in opposition (2017-2020) | |||||||
0 / 300 | 163,980
| 0.69% | extra-parliamentary | in opposition | – | Others | |
| 2020 | 103 / 300 | 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 / 300 | 51,885 (FPTP) 574,307 (PR)
| 0.18% (FPTP) 2.06% (PR) | extra-parliamentary | in opposition | – | Others | |
| 2024 | 108 / 300 | 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) |
3 / 300 | 195,147 (Constituency) 1,025,775 (Party-list PR) | 0.67% (Constituency) 3.62% (Party-list PR) | 5 seats;Minority | in opposition | Lee Jun-seok | Reform Party | |
0 / 300 | 15,392 (FPTP) 229,066 (PR)
| 0.53% (FPTP) 0.81% (PR) | extra-parliamentary | in opposition | – | Others |
| Election | Metropolitan mayor/Governor | Provincial legislature | Municipal mayor | Municipal legislature | Party Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 5 / 15 | 284 / 875 | 70 / 230 | Democratic Liberal Party | |
4 / 15 | 82 / 875 | 23 / 230 | United Liberal Democrats | ||
| 1998 | 6 / 16 | 224 / 616 | 74 / 232 | Grand National Party | |
4 / 16 | 82 / 616 | 29 / 232 | United Liberal Democrats | ||
| 2002 | 11 / 16 | 467 / 682 | 136 / 227 | Grand National Party | |
1 / 16 | 33 / 682 | 16 / 227 | United Liberal Democrats | ||
| 2006 | 12 / 16 | 557 / 733 | 155 / 230 | 1,621 / 2,888 | Grand National Party |
| 2010 | 6 / 16 | 288 / 761 | 82 / 228 | 1,247 / 2,888 | Grand National Party |
1 / 16 | 41 / 761 | 13 / 228 | 117 / 2,888 | Liberty Forward Party | |
0 / 16 | 3 / 761 | 0 / 228 | 19 / 2,888 | Pro-Park Coalition | |
| 2014 | 8 / 17 | 416 / 789 | 117 / 226 | 1,413 / 2,898 | Saenuri Party |
| 2018 | 2 / 17 | 137 / 824 | 53 / 226 | 1,009 / 2,927 | Liberty Korea Party |
| 2022 | 12 / 17 | 540 / 872 | 145 / 226 | 1,435 / 2,987 | People Power Party |
... '자유'라는 말만큼 요즘 그 의미가 새롭게 다가오는 단어도 드물다. 주말마다 광화문에서 열리는태극기집회에 가면 '자유민주주의 수호'란 구호를 귀가 따갑도록 들을 수 있다. 그분들이 말하는 자유는자유한국당의 '자유'와 일맥상통하지만, 1960년 4·19 직후김수영 시인이 쓴 시의 한 구절 "어째서 자유에는 피의 냄새가 섞여 있는가를"에 나오는 '자유'와는 사뭇 다르다 ... 십수년 전 워싱턴특파원 시절, 가장 곤혹스러운 영어단어 중 하나가 '리버럴'(liberal)이었다. 미국에선 '리버럴' 하면 보통 민주당 지지자나진보주의자를 뜻하는데 ...[... Few words have a new meaning these days as much as the word"liberal". If you go to theTaegukgi rallies held at Gwanghwamun every weekend, you can hear the slogan "Guardian of Liberal Democracy." The liberal they say is in line with theLiberty Korea Party's "liberal", but it is clearly different from"liberal" in a verse from a poem written by poetKim Soo-young shortly after 19 April 1960. ... When I was a Washington correspondent decades ago, one of the most embarrassing English words was"liberal". In the United States,"liberal" usually means a Democratic supporter orprogressive, but if it is incorporated into a sentence ...]
... 윤희숙 국민의힘 의원은 민주당 의원들이 발의한 사회적경제기본법을 자유주의의 적이라고 규정했고 ...[... Yoon Hee-sook, a member of the People Power Party National Assembly member, defined the Framework Act on Social Economy proposed by Democratic Party of Korea as an enemy of liberalism ...]
On the other side, the contingencies of the ritual seem to become more tactile and controversial in the public spaces of Seoul where one can witness the extent to which "Red complex" has been reinvigorated. In this scheme, political and religious conservatives view liberal and progressive South Koreans as pro-North leftist Reds. It is fairly common that in any public space, such as Seoul City Hall Plaza, one might find politically conservative evangelical Christians holding pickets on which the terms chongbuk chwappal ("pro-North Korea leftist-red") are printed along with the term tongsŏngae ("homosexuality").
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