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영어

In the political process of democracy, political party not only transfers the public matter to national policy but also is a potent influence in its decision making process. In terms of the party and its members who are decided through elections and play core roles in national policy, the election forms the principal ground of democratic political measures. Thus, any election shall be made an open space of evaluating political party's measures and a space of policy decision wherein the electorate can select candidates or parties. Yet, 4·15 Parliament Election was processed under the unstable environment and changeable system than any time before due to such events as the investigation of illegal political fund, impeachment of president for the first time ever in history, the Law of Policy Relations announced only 20 days ahead of candidate registration, the delayed inauguration of election response instrument by major parties due to the internal conflict surrounding the candidate nomination. Consequently, it was an election deranged with ‘pros/cons to impeachment’, ‘competition between susceptibility and image’, ‘extremities between ages’ of the 20s~30s and the 50s~60s, as well as ‘regionalism’ and ‘connection oriented network’ rather than a character oriented election by policy showdown of parties and candidates. Particularly, although the influential parties have declared ‘policy party’ principal, their old practices of lacking concreteness in public pledge, distinction and viability, overissue of pork-barrelling, and copying each other's pledges remained as they were. Further, the policy doesn't seem to have sufficient influence on the electorate in selecting parties and candidates. Nonetheless, along with political significance of the stabilization of political situation by the ministerial party securing the majority, the progressive party's floor entry, vast range of change in assembly members, and appeasement of the barrier for the female member to enter National Assembly, steeply reduced bribery and the black propaganda that were considered as the chronic abuses as well as the activated policy debate, 4·15 Parliament Election may as well be called as the very election that brought an important significance to the history of Korean policy than any other elections beforehand.

한국어

공공의 문제를 국가정책으로 전환시키는데 핵심적인 역할을 수행하는 정당과 그 구성원이 선거를 통해서 선출된다는 차원에서 민주주의의 기본 축은 선거이다. 따라서 선거는 정당정책을 평가하는 장이며, 후보자나 정당간의 정책적 차별성을 기준으로 선택되어야 한다. 하지만 금번 4·15 국회의원선거는 불법정치자금 수사, 사상 초유의 대통령 탄핵정국, 선거직전에 통과된 선거법, 후보자 공천을 둘러싼 당내 갈등으로 주요 정당의 선거 대책기구의 발족의 지연 등으로 그 어느 때보다 변화된 제도와 불확실한 선거 환경 속에서 치러진 선거였다. 그 결과 정당과 후보자의 정책대결과 인물본위의 선거보다는 ‘탄핵찬반 선거’, ‘감성과 이미지 경쟁의 선거’, ‘세대간의 투표양극화’ ‘지역주의’와 ‘연고주의형 네트워크 선거’가 뒤엉킨 선거였다. 특히 주요 정당들은 정책정당을 표방하면서도 정책공약의 구체성, 차별성과 실현가능성의 부족, 전략적 차원의 선심성 공약남발과 공약 베끼기 현상 등은 여전하였다. 그럼에도 불구하고 여당의 과반수 획득, 진보정당의 원내진출, 국회의원의 대대적인 물갈이, 여성의 국회 진입장벽의 완화 등의 정치적 의미와 함께 그동안 고질적인 병폐로 여겼던 금품과 흑색선전의 대폭 감소, 정책토론의 활성화 등으로 이번 선거는 역대 그 어느 선거보다 한국정치사에서 중요한 의미를 가져온 선거라 할 수 있다.