ABSTRACT
One of the main reforms undertaken by the Kim Dae-jung administration involved changing those electoral laws that had traditionally created minority governments (or at least, were perceived to do so) and emphasized regional cleavages. The post-authoritarian governments struggled to secure majority status and this resulted in the three-party merger of 1990 and the formation of a coalition between the National Congress for New Politics (NCNP) 1 and the United Liberal Democrats (ULD) in 1997. When building a coalition did not suffice to allow the winning party to achieve a majority in the legislature, the Kim Dae-jung administration started to reorganize the party system by attracting defectors from the opposition parties. During Kim Dae-jung’s administration, the change of party affiliation (defection) from members of the opposition parties reached the highest level since democratization.
