Conservative politics remains trapped in betrayal framework

“Politics of betrayal must be judged by the people at the ballot box.”

On June 25, 2015, midway through the Park Geun-hye administration, the former president delivered the forceful remark at a Cabinet meeting. She was exercising her veto of a National Assembly bill that revised parliamentary law to allow lawmakers, through bipartisan agreement, to request changes to government enforcement decrees. Park did not name the individual she viewed as a betrayer, but it was widely understood to refer to Yoo Seung-min, then floor leader of the ruling party, who had agreed to the bill. Yoo resigned from his post 13 days later.

The betrayal narrative quickly took hold within conservative politics, fueling division and decline. In the general elections the following year, the ruling Saenuri Party, now the People Power Party, pursued an ambitious goal of winning 180 seats but operated squarely within this framework, closely adhering to Park’s guidance. Figures known as “true pro-Park” selectors emerged to identify and exclude perceived betrayers from nomination lists, while so-called pro-Park certification campaigns became a tool for demonstrating loyalty. The party ultimately lost its status as the largest bloc in the National Assembly to the Democratic Party of Korea. Park, who had once maintained a solid base of support, was later impeached amid a sweeping political scandal. During that period, 29 lawmakers identified as non pro-Park, including Yoo, left the party.

The betrayal narrative continued to fracture conservative politics. Efforts to reunite with Yoo Seung-min under the Future United Party banner ahead of the 2020 general elections failed, ending in a crushing defeat. Conservatives rebounded in the 2022 presidential and local elections through a temporary alliance among former party leader Lee Jun-seok, former President Yoon Seok-yeol and lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo. Yet once power was regained, the betrayal narrative quickly resurfaced. Lee was expelled after clashing with Yoon, and during the period of emergency measures and Yoon’s impeachment debate, the party split into pro- and anti-impeachment camps, again consumed by internal accusations. Over the past decade, this politics of betrayal has culminated in three consecutive general elections defeats and two presidential impeachments.

The betrayal narrative has since evolved into what can be described as a perpetrator frame, in which party members are punished for actions deemed to have harmed party leaders or loyalists. Party leaders aligned with Jang Dong-hyuk expelled former party leader Han Dong-hoon, arguing that he must bear responsibility for the damage caused by his support for Yoon’s impeachment. The scale of punishment has intensified. Betrayal once led to departure, while perceived harm now results in expulsion. Ahead of the June 3 local elections, the People Power Party is prioritizing the protection of aggrieved members and the consolidation of its hard-line base, rather than distancing itself from Yoon or expanding its appeal to centrist voters.

The Democratic Party of Korea has also grappled with betrayal narratives, but its response has differed. In 2002, Kim Min-seok, later appointed prime minister by former President Kim Dae-jung, left the party to support candidate Chung Mong-joon when Roh Moo-hyun’s campaign faltered. Although the party initially branded Kim a betrayer, it later welcomed him back, and President Lee Jae-myung went on to appoint him prime minister. While conservatives have remained trapped in cycles of betrayal and perpetrator framing over the past decade, the Democratic Party pursued a strategy of expansion through inclusion, electoral alliances and the appropriation of conservative policy themes, even appealing to conservative voters. By contrast, the current People Power Party shows little inclination to offer Yoo or Han another opportunity or to move toward the political center. Lee Jun-seok has likewise drawn a clear line against electoral alliances with such a party. If the People Power Party hopes to change, it must first abandon the politics of betrayal and retribution.