창작과 비평

The Quarterly Changbi 197, Autumn 2022

Abstract

The presidential election in March and local elections in June were fierce struggles between efforts to move the Candlelight Revolution forward and attempts to block them. Political scientist Lee Nam Ju emphasizes that, although the results of these two elections are frustrating, we should calmly examine how much of a failure it really was and where it originated. Attributing the primary cause of the change of power to a fault-line in the Candlelight Alliance, he analyzes how the Democratic Party, which readily appropriated the meaning of the Candlelight during the past five years and tried to maintain its vested interests by taking advantage of the failure of the opposition party, is considerably responsible for this crack. Nevertheless, he also points out that the Democratic Party’s role as the leading opposition is still important in the rebuilding of the Candlelight Alliance. Noting the role of the Democratic Party as a “platform party” open to various social and political forces and discussing the areas where changes are necessary in the party, Lee asserts that it should implement tangible changes in the execution of its programs, inside and outside the party.