Cho Guk loses Pyeongtaek by-election, resigns as party leader; Reform Party wins just one seat; two-party dominance deepens as merger talk resurfaces
Third-party political groups, including the Rebuilding Korea Party and the Reform Party, fell well short of expectations in the June 3 local elections. With the two-party structure anchored by the Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party reaffirmed, smaller parties now face the challenge of proving their relevance before the 2028 general election.
According to the National Election Commission, 48 of the 261 Rebuilding Korea Party candidates who ran in the June 3 local elections won their races, including the mayoral contests in Jangheung-gun and Sinan-gun. Party leader Cho Guk, who ran in the National Assembly by-election in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, finished third and lost.
The party's wins were concentrated almost entirely in the Honam region. Of the 48 victors, all but two — proportional representation seats on provincial councils in Gyeonggi Province and Jeju — came from Gwangju, South Jeolla Province and North Jeolla Province. Despite presenting itself as a national party, the results showed it had not broken free of its identity as a Honam-based organization.
Cho's defeat dealt the party its most damaging blow. On Wednesday, he announced he would step down as party leader to take responsibility for the election outcome. The resignation leaves the Rebuilding Korea Party without leadership for the first time in roughly 18 months, since Cho's pardon and reinstatement of civil rights in November last year.
Political observers say Cho's departure could also reshape the party's relationship with the Democratic Party. As the party works through its internal accountability process, long-discussed talks about merging with the Democratic Party could resurface.
The two parties held merger discussions in February but the talks collapsed. Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae, speaking Wednesday, cited the candidate unification arrangement in the Ulsan mayoral race and said the party would "deeply consider and research, through a public deliberation process, how to build alliances with other parties" — signaling openness to a future merger.
The Reform Party fielded 190 candidates across mayoral, gubernatorial, provincial and local council races as well as National Assembly by-elections, but managed to win just one local council seat. The sole winner came from a Hwaseong city council race in Gyeonggi Province — the home constituency of party leader Lee Jun-seok.
Cho Eung-cheon, a former lawmaker recruited to run for Gyeonggi Province governor, finished third with 4.32 percent of the vote. Seoul mayoral candidate Kim Jeong-cheol placed fifth with 0.82 percent, trailing Justice Party candidate Kwon Yeong-guk at 1.03 percent and Women's Party candidate Yoo Ji-hye at 0.84 percent. The party's Busan mayoral candidate, Jeong I-han, received 1.56 percent.
Lee held a campaign headquarters dissolution ceremony Wednesday and acknowledged the result. "The Reform Party did not meet the expectations of the people in this local election, and I accept that result with gravity and humility," he said. "The responsibility for our outstanding candidates not receiving the results they deserved rests entirely with me, Lee Jun-seok, and the central party, for failing to give them sufficient support due to our party's limited strength."
Political analysts say the election has further entrenched the two-party system. With the Democratic Party sweeping local power and the People Power Party holding Seoul and the Yeongnam region, the space for third parties has narrowed even further.
Looking ahead to the 2028 general election, the Reform Party may find it difficult to rule out building a broad conservative alliance with the People Power Party. With the two-party structure hardened by these results, analysts say the two sides could join forces for survival. One People Power Party lawmaker said the election produced several new variables — including the split of conservative votes and the victory of Han Dong-hoon as an independent candidate — and that "it is now time for the broader conservative camp to pool its strength and focus on checking the ruling party."
mp1256@heraldcorp.com
