After a Win Short of a Majority, the Dream of a 'Structural Majority' Ends in Upset Defeats

President Lee Jae-myung won the 21st presidential election — held amid the fallout from former President Yoon Suk-yeol's emergency martial law declaration and impeachment — with 49.42 percent of the vote, short of an outright majority. Now his dream of building a 'structural majority' has collapsed amid a string of defeats for his handpicked nominees.

A 'structural majority' refers to a stable base of support spanning multiple political camps — one that cannot be shaken by a single variable such as an election result. President Lee first used the term on June 26 during a meeting with former President Moon Jae-in at Sangchunjae, a guest house on the grounds of the former presidential Blue House.

But with conservative figures handpicked by the president — including Lee Hye-hoon, Lee Byung-tae and Lee Seok-yeon — going down to defeat one after another, the strategy of extending his political reach into conservative ranks has ended in failure.