This May marked one year in office for South Korean President Moon Jae-in,... and the 2018 local elections in June served as a test to see whether the public approved of the administration.
The results were a massive victory for the ruling party,... but a devasting loss for the opposition bloc.
For our series of the top 10 news items of the year, Kim Min-ji takes a look at how those results came about and where the parties stand now.
The 2018 local elections were a massive win for the ruling Democratic Party and an unmitigated disaster for the main opposition Liberty Korea Party.
Out of 17 posts for mayor and governor,... the ruling party claimed victory in 14 -- including in traditional conservative strongholds, such as Busan, Ulsan and Gyeongsangnam-do Province.

The results were devastating for the main opposition party -- which was only able to secure two posts.
The conservative party wasn't able to position itself as a strong alternative, nor was it able to completely sever its ties to impeached former President Park Geun-hye.

"The local elections were seen as more of a referendum on the Moon Jae-in government. The ruling party's victory was buoyed by the high approval rating for the president -- following the April inter-Korean summit. The opposition bloc, meanwhile, saw its votes split among them."

But things have taken a turn lately.
With the economy in the doldrums,... all fingers are pointing at the ruling party and the government.

"The growth rate is falling and job growth is weak. But the government continues to pursue the same policies -- and people are getting frustrated. This has led to a decline in the government and ruling party's approval rating -- and that support, recently, has been going to the main opposition party."

The next opportunity for parties to prove themselves is the general elections in April 2020.
Talks are currently underway to revamp the electoral system to better reflect voter's party preferences.
In the 300-member National Assembly,... seats are given to whoever gets the most votes in each of Korea's 253 constituencies,... while the remaining 47 proportional seats are distributed depending on the party preference votes.
Minor parties want to increase proportional representation -- either by adding new proportional seats to parliament,... or cutting the number of constituencies.
But talks haven't been smooth-sailing as the proposed changes are unlikely to benefit the bigger parties.

Regardless of how those discussions go,... what's for sure is that,... the ruling party will have to work extra hard before the next elections to retain the voters that supported them... while the opposition will have to reflect on their current shortcomings and use the pain of defeat as an opportunity to overhaul themselves.
Kim Min-ji, Arirang News.