The 'third way' cannot succeed while labor remains tilted toward unions

Suh Kyoung-ho

The author is an editorial writer at the JoongAng Ilbo.

“Like former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, we should pursue a ‘third way’ that embraces the political center. Like French President Emmanuel Macron, we should move beyond ideological confrontation, focus relentlessly on results and respond to the public’s practical needs.”

According to reports, presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik presented that vision for governing at the ruling party’s lawmakers’ workshop last week. The message closely echoed President Lee Jae Myung’s call to broaden the Democratic Party’s (DP) appeal. It is encouraging to hear the phrase “third way” return to Korean politics after such a long absence.

During the 1990s, Tony Blair steered the Labour Party toward the political center under the banner of New Labour. He transformed the party from one representing the working class into one that aspired to represent everyone seeking success.

One hallmark of that strategy was the “Mondeo Man” concept, which Kang reportedly cited in his remarks. Named after the Ford Mondeo, a popular family sedan in Britain at the time, the strategy targeted middle-class voters by improving their quality of life. Blair became Labour leader in 1994 and led the party to victory in the 1997 general election, ending 18 years of Conservative rule. He remained prime minister until 2007. Since World War II, only Blair and Margaret Thatcher governed Britain for at least a decade.

Kang’s assessment of Macron was equally notable. He argued that Macron recognized public fatigue with the traditional left, symbolized by the generation shaped by the protests of 1968, and secured another presidential victory by emphasizing practical achievements rather than ideology.

His remarks immediately triggered resistance within the DP. Some figures from the party’s pro-Roh Moo-hyun and pro-Moon Jae-in mainstream dismissed the idea as “opportunistic manipulation.” The criticism followed earlier complaints from writer Yu Si-min, who argued that the DP leadership was attempting to “rebuild” the party without first obtaining the consent of its enthusiastic supporters, who merely wanted to “expand” it.

Watching the friction between the old establishment and the so-called New Lee Jae Myung faction recalls an earlier chapter in the party’s history. Ironically, those same traditional DP leaders once enthusiastically studied Blair’s “third way.”

The result was the “New Democratic Party Plan,” unveiled in 2009 when the party was in opposition during the early years of the Lee Myung-bak administration. The proposal acknowledged that although the party had long claimed to represent the middle class and ordinary citizens, it had in fact lost middle-class support. It also reflected the belief that the administrations of former presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun had devoted too much energy to ideological struggles during their combined decade in office.

There is an old saying that enduring hardship is easier than resisting prosperity. Perhaps the determination to win over the broader public inevitably weakens once an opposition party becomes the governing party.

There are encouraging signs that the administration is embracing common sense and pragmatism. President Lee Jae Myung has expressed concern about the unintended consequences of completely abolishing prosecutors’ investigative authority. The government has also reversed its longstanding opposition to nuclear power and water resource development to support the construction of a semiconductor fab in the Jeolla region.

A government should look beyond its core supporters and pursue policies that benefit the broader public and the country as a whole. Yet a genuine “third way” cannot succeed while the playing field remains tilted toward organized labor.

Blair’s achievement was not simply rhetorical. He fundamentally reshaped Labour’s relationship with trade unions. In 1995, he abolished the party platform's longstanding commitment to nationalizing industry. In its place, he promoted an open economy, a more attractive investment environment and a welfare system centered on work. He also cut the unions' voting power within the party by nearly half. Two years later, Labour returned to power.

Since the "Yellow Envelope" act took effect in March, however, Korea's industrial sector has struggled with growing uncertainty. The union of plant construction workers has announced a nationwide strike against primary contractors next month, the first walkout by a subcontractor union since the law's implementation. Ambiguous legal provisions have left worksites increasingly confused.

The National Labor Relations Commission, a quasijudicial body expected to provide neutral rulings on issues such as determining employer status, has meanwhile lost the public's confidence amid criticism over its impartiality. Its chair is Park Soo-geun, widely described as one of the principal architects of the "Yellow Envelope" law. Inevitably, critics argue that the person who designed the rules is now serving as the referee.

Other labor initiatives — including extending the mandatory retirement age, introducing a presumption of worker status and enacting a basic act for working people — are also being advanced under the overwhelming influence of organized labor.

If that continues, the "third way" will remain out of reach.