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Progressive parties fighting uphill battle 
 

The Democratic Labor Party stunned the nation in 2004 when it became the nation's first leftist group to win seats in the National Assembly.

Four years later, these representatives' popularity is shrinking, and there is a split in their ranks. Their prospects in the parliamentary elections tomorrow are slim.

The DLP earlier this year disintegrated into two parties after factional feuding that was triggered by its meager showing in the December presidential election.

The DLP's candidate, Kwon Young-ghil, got 2.8 percent of the vote, far lower than the party's projection of 10 percent. He won 3.9 percent in the 2002 election.

The DLP and its splinter group, the New Progressive Party, are striving to reinvigorate the left wing in the upcoming elections.

The DLP fielded candidates for 103 constituencies and 10 proportional representation seats, while the NPP registered 34 candidates for directly elected seats and 11 for proportional ones.

But voters are increasingly uninterested in politics which stresses ideology, and this has led to what analysts see as a crisis for progressives.

In recent opinion polls, the DLP and the NPP ranked fifth and seventh, respectively, with approval ratings of about 3.8 and 1.9 percent.

The progressive duo has two major problems, according to the experts.

They have no regional strongholds, unlike the Grand National Party, with its major support in the southeastern Gyeongsang provinces, and the United Democratic Party, with its base in the southwestern Jeolla provinces.

The DLP and NPP candidates are not even doing well in their only home turf, Ulsan, according to recent surveys. In five constituencies of the industrial city, progressive candidates have gotten less than half the approval ratings of the leading candidates.

Compounding the problem for leftists is the fact that South Koreans have become fed-up with ideological conflict among political parties. Analysts say that this has much to do voters' having been disenchanted and even alienated by the policies of the Roh Moo-hyun administration.

Citizens are now more interested in a pragmatic agenda which stresses issues related to their livelihood. This sense of priorities is amplified by the deepening strains in the economy.

Workers, farmers and many lower-income voters sent 10 DLP members to the legislature in 2004, but the group's support has dwindled over the last four years.

Progressives attribute this to the party's dependence on the radical Korea Confederation of Trade Unions as its main support base. Additionally, there is the party's stubborn pro-North Korea stance.

In the wake of its utter defeat in the presidential election, members of the minority People's Democracy faction led by Reps. Sim Sang-jeong and Roh Hoe-chan sought to revamp the party. But they gave up their DLP membership after they failed to patch up their differences with the mainstream National Liberation group over the party's stance on radical labor groups and Pyongyang. The defectors formed the New Progressive Party on Feb. 16, and adopted moderate policies.

The progressive parties are emphasizing their trademark concerns: welfare for workers, farmers and the underprivileged. The DLP has also used the very specific slogan: "Half Tuition, Temps into Regular Workers." The promise is to improve working conditions for temporary workers and cut the skyrocketing university tuition to 1.5 million won ($1,500) per semester.

And the NPP decided to field the nation's first openly lesbian politician for a parliamentary seat.

In addition, they are seeking to improve their prospects by aligning with other liberal parties so as to derail the Lee Myung-bak administration's controversial cross-country canal plan.

But a party split will mean fewer parliamentary seats and a weaker voice for workers and farmers in the Assembly, analysts point out.

The progressive parties are focusing on a few politicians, in recognition of the fact that their fate largely depends on these individuals' success.

The DLP is concentrating its support on Kwon Young-ghil and Kang Ki-kab, who are running for in Changwon and Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, respectively.

Kwon, who is trying for a second term, is slightly ahead in recent opinion polls against his GNP rival. Kang is behind the GNP's Lee Bang-ho, but is doing his all to narrow the margin to 5.2 percent.

The NPP's co-chairman, Roh Hoe-chan, is fighting against Hong Jung-wook of the GNP. In the latest Munhwa Ilbo survey, Roh has 38.3 percent support, outperforming Hong by 7.5 percentage points.

Another co-chairman, Sim Sang-jeong of the progressive party, is running against the GNP candidate, Sohn Beom-kyu in Goyang-Deokyang, Gyeonggi Province. Sim lags behind by a margin of about 10 percentage points, but is hoping for better by integrating with the UDP candidate, Han Pyeong-seok.

A group of progressive intellectuals and lawyers have joined the campaigns for progressive candidates, along with dozens of celebrities, including people in the film industry.