The victory by Park Won-soon, a long-time activist backed by progressive groups in a close election for mayor of Seoul last October, has gotten Korea’s left salivating at the prospect of sweeping victories in next year’s national assembly and presidential elections.  With a chance to control both the Blue House and the legislature, the various parties on the left are starting to focus on winning elections rather than turf battles with fellow progressives.

Park Won-soon's win in the Seoul mayoral election on October 27 has South Korean progressives feeling good about their prospects in the 2012 general elections (AP/Lee Jin-man photo)

To better prepare for those elections, the center-left Democratic Party has combined with progressives and the Korean Federation of Trade to form the Democratic Unified Party.

The far left also wants to see its share in the National Assembly increased.  The old national liberation leftist Democratic Labor Party has joined forces with Rhyu Shi-min’s People’s Participation Party to form the Unified Progressive Party.  The unification may help both parties shed images that have held them back; the DLP’s image as a collection of pro-North Korean extremists and the view that the PPP is simply a personal vehicle for Rhyu’s presidential ambitions.  On the flip side, the union combines the DLP’s organizational muscle with Rhyu’s image as a more mild (if not moderate) progressive who carries the banner of former president Roh Moo-hyun.  The new party hopes to increase its number of seats in the National Assembly from seven to at least 20, which will allow it to form a floor negotiating group and give it a larger share of the the assembly’s operating budget.

The ultimate goal of all these efforts is to create a grand unified progressive party.  That may be a bridge too far but the two major parties on the left could form a temporary alliance in legislative elections in the spring.  They will need to to avoid splitting the progressive vote; the apparent progressive surge is fueling a rush of candidates registering to run under the DUP and UPP banners, with filed candidates in the capital region from those two parties outnumbering those seeking nomination in the main conservative Grand National Party by more than 3-to-1.  The feeling that 2012 will be a good year for the left will make it more difficult for the remaining party’s to give up on the chance to significantly expand their electoral footprint in the name of unity.

The latest Realmeter poll has the GNP at 31.2%, followed by the DUP at 30.9% and the UPP at 6.1%.  A massive 31.8% support either support minor parties, independents, or are undecided.