According to predictions, the legislative elections in April 2024 will be very tight. The two major parties, namely the ruling People's Power Party (PPP) and the opposition Democratic Party (DP), are ready to engage in a fierce battle to win the most parliament seats.
The ruling PPP is very intent on achieving victory in the upcoming elections. For this party, it is necessary to win a majority of parliamentary seats so that government policies can run smoothly without obstruction from the opposition. So far, government policies have often been obstructed by the opposition in parliament, which dominates the assembly.
Meanwhile, the opposition party, which narrowly lost the 2022 presidential election, wants to win this April's election to maintain its majority in the assembly.
Even though it is only to elect representatives to the National Assembly, this election seems to be a battle between President Yoon Suk-yeol and the Chairman of the Democratic Party, Lee Jae-myung, as in the previous presidential election.
For President Yoon Suk-yeol, winning the majority of parliamentary seats must be achieved to support his strategic policies. So far, they have not received legislative or National Assembly support, because the opposition controls almost 60 percent of all parliamentary seats. If he fails to achieve a parliamentary majority, strategic policies in the remaining two years of Yoon's leadership will be hampered by the opposition in the parliament.
This election will also be a reality test for the Democratic Party's main opposition leader, Lee Jae-myung. Success in this election could provide the momentum needed to confirm his re-nomination in the 2027 presidential election.
Two major parties are carrying out campaigns to attract the sympathy of the South Korean people. Unfortunately, the implementation of the campaign was overshadowed by the problem of false information. According to Yonhap news agency, as of March 18, there were more than 400 allegations of criminal activity related to the election, with 676 people named suspects. Of the total number of cases, 352 involved spreading false information.
Less than a week before South Korea's parliamentary elections on April 10, authorities have vowed to take firm action against anyone who tries to influence the election results by spreading false information.
Firm action against spreaders of false information needs to be taken, because false information in any country, including South Korea, has significant implications for the integrity of elections. False Information prevents voters from making decisions based on factual information.