Presidential campaign slogans

“If someone succeeds, someone else will inevitably fail. Even when just one person succeeds, a number of others could fail. Happiness is an exception. Even if someone is happy, it doesn`t mean that someone else is unhappy.” This was said in 2007 by Chung Dong-young, then the presidential candidate of the ruling Democratic Party who used the slogan “A Country Where Families Are Happy” for the 17th presidential election. Back then, the main opposition Grand National Party`s candidate Lee Myung-bak used the slogan, “The Era of People’s Success” before Chung used his slogan.

Chung might have given appealing explanations about his slogan, but it had a number of drawbacks. Above all, when he wanted to highlight the strengths of this slogan, he had to mention his rival’s first. Chung`s was a slogan that could not emit light on its own, just as the moon cannot shine without sunlight. The career history and image of Chung, who was a TV news anchor and unification minister, did not instantly connect with the values of family and happiness when seen from the perspective of voters. What people envisioned, or the spirit of the era in 2007 to put it more seriously, was closer to “success” than “happiness.” Chung lost the election by a record 5.3 million votes, though his slogan was not the sole reason for his defeat.

In the 1997 presidential election, the slogan of opposition candidate Kim Dae-jung, "A President Prepared for the Job,” was very timely and helped transform the negative aspect of his third presidential bid into one of his strengths. It also effectively gave the Korean people a sense of stability at a time of huge hardship amid the Asian financial crisis, which was unprecedented. In the 2002 election, the slogan of candidate Roh Moo-hyun, “A New Republic of Korea,” was not an attractive combination of words in itself. But this was in great harmony with the image of Roh as a reform-minded figure and caused then opposition candidate Lee Hoi-chang to be perceived by voters as a “figure of the conventional regime.”

Rep. Park Geun-hye, the leading presidential contender of the ruling Saenuri Party, on Sunday picked as her slogan for her campaign for the presidency, “A Country Where My Dreams Come True.” She has imprinted on the Korean public the image of a figure of “principle and promise” as her brand, and the key now is how she can link this with “dreams.” “A Life in Which People Can Enjoy the Evening,” the slogan of Sohn Hak-kyu, who seeks the presidential nomination of the main opposition Democratic United Party, can stimulate the imagination but seems to lack specificity. Moon Jae-in, another leading contender of the party, will announce his election slogan in the middle of this month. A good catchphrase displays the spirit of the times. A slogan can resonate with the people only when it cleverly raises issue with problems and presents a vision for the future.

Industrial Desk Reporter Jang Kang-myeong (tesomiom@donga.com)