Parties fail to secure reforms as candidate registration ends
Women, young political rookies underrepresented on election roster
Major political parties have reneged on their pledges to enact political reforms and introduce fresh blood into the political arena for the upcoming April 10 general elections, and this failure is glaringly evident in the candidate roster, which shows no significant departures from the composition seen in the previous parliamentary elections.
Rather, the representation of women and younger contenders in the candidate pool is even lower than in the previous elections four years ago, painting a bleak picture and suggesting that the upcoming vote will likely end up being a partisan showdown between conventional politicians.
Candidate registrations closed on Friday and a total of 951 lawmaker hopefuls registered, the National Election Commission (NEC) said, Sunday. Twenty-one political parties fielded 698 candidates in 254 constituencies. And 253 people from 38 parties have registered for 46 seats for proportional representation.
In the constituency voting, the ruling People Power Party (PPP) has fielded candidates in all 254 electoral districts, while the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) has registered candidates in 245. Following closely behind are the Reform Party with 43 candidates and the Saemirae Party with 28.
Out of 698 constituency candidates, only 99 were women, accounting for 14.2 percent. This was lower than the previous general elections in 2020, when there were 213 women among 1,118 constituency candidates to account for 19 percent.
By age group, 78.4 percent of the candidates are over 50. Among them, 314 were aged between 50 and 59, 247 were between 60 and 69, and 26 were over 70.
On the other hand, only 5.4 percent of candidates are under the age of 40, with 34 falling within the 30 to 39 age bracket, and a scant four candidates aged between 20 and 29.
Among constituency candidates, 65 percent, or 429 people, identified their occupation as politicians. Among them, 173 said they currently hold positions as lawmakers, while the remainder occupy various roles such as party officials.
The tally showed that the parties fell short of their own promises to nominate a higher number of women, younger individuals, and political newcomers as candidates.
The PPP’s candidate recommendation committee chief Chung Younghwan said in January, “The party will focus on discovering talented young individuals, women, and promising political newcomers.”
The DPK’s candidate recommendation committee head Im Hyug-baeg also said in January, “We will concentrate on nominating young candidates who have fresh ideas and seek change.”
Criticism and controversy plagued the rival parties’ nomination and registration processes until the eleventh hour.
The ruling party was criticized for failing to explore fresh faces and opting instead to nominate a majority of loyalists to President Yoon Suk Yeol as candidates.
The DPK saw some political heavyweights defect from the party and suffered serious internal feuding, as many members critical of Chairman Lee Jae-myung were sidelined from the candidate nominations.
Both parties faced a string of candidacy cancellations. The PPP’s five-term lawmaker and National Assembly Deputy Speaker Chung Woo-taik had his nomination revoked due to corruption allegations. Meanwhile, several others, including DPK candidate Cho Soo-jin, saw their candidacies rescinded due to controversial remarks made in the past.
Even on Saturday night, the DPK belatedly canceled the candidacy of Lee Young-sun over allegations of real estate speculation. Since the decision was made after the NEC closed the registration window, the DPK will not have its candidate in the Sejong-A constituency.
As turbulent as the nomination process for constituency candidates has been, there are concerns that the voting for proportional representation may also lead to confusion among voters.