Führungswechsel bei den zwei großen Parteien Südkoreas Der Wahlkampf zur Präsidentschaftswahl 2017 ist bereits eingeläutet

Abstract

This article deals with the recent conventions (held in August 2016) of South Korea's ruling New Frontier Party (NFP) and the major oppositional Together Democratic Party (TDP), including explanations of the respective electoral procedures and their particularities. In both cases the main agenda was to elect new leadership, against the backdrop of the upcoming presidential election of December 2017. Naturally the party's nomination of the presidential candidate depends to a large extend on who is currently in power. Interestingly, both parties elected a leadership almost exclusively consisting of functionaries belonging to the currently dominant faction within each party - the pro-Park Geun-hye camp in the case of the NFP, and the pro-Mun Jae-in camp in that of the TDP. It remains to be seen whether it was a smart strategy to stick with the established powerholders so as to be nominating a competitive presidential candidate, or whether they should have opted instead for a political makeover. Both parties have been recent recipients of criticism for their poor performance, which even led to the emergence of a third party - the Peoples' Party (PP) - at the general election last year.