The June 2nd South Korean local government elections ended with good news for the left-leaning Democratic Party. Beyond most expectations, 54.5% of voters turned out, the highest for 15 years, and much of that improvement was thanks to the participation of twenty-somethings.
In the last local government elections in 2006, the overall turnout was 51.6%, but only 33.9% for people in their twenties. Those in their fifties constituted 68.2%, and in their sixties 70.9%.
However, this time artists and entertainers spurred the young on to vote using Twitter and other modern media methods, creating an atmosphere of encouragement for a normally apathetic demographic to use their voting right.
The input of a large number of relatively young participants was significant for the result; notably, the expected weakness of the Democratic Party was reversed.
In practice, the younger generation voted to balance the Lee Myung Bak administration, but there was also a clear rejection of the ruling Grand National Party (GNP)’s emphasis on the Cheonan incident.
Lee Eun Ju (28) said, “Neither the Grand National Party, which tried to use the Cheonan incident to gain votes, nor the Democratic Party, which tried to use the late Roh Moo Hyun, were to my liking. However, I thought checking the GNP’s monopoly on policy… had to be the priority.”
Park Dong Hee (28) added, “In terms of heads of local government, I voted for each after checking out their pledges, but in the proportional representatives’ case, I voted for the opposition party because the GNP’s monopoly on power has been so broad.”
An anonymous university student explained his motivations, “I wanted to judge the MB (Lee Myung Bak) administration, so I held the opposition party’s hand specifically to block the four rivers development project.”
Younger voters’ belief that the ruling party was trying to use the Cheonan incident for its own gain in the election affected it in a reverse way, handing leverage to the Democratic Party to win a number of races.
A professor from the Department of Political Science and Diplomacy of Kwandong University, Kang Won Shik explained his view of the situation to The Daily NK today, “It is true that the Cheonan incident was an attack by North Korea, but there were many doubts, too. The results of the election emerged from the clumsy communication between the administration and the people.”
Oh Eun Kyung (27) was one such young voter. She said of the Cheonan incident, “The ruling party exaggerated it too much, and I felt repulsed by that attitude.”
Song Eun Jung (26) agreed, “Although some said that the Cheonan incident was a good opportunity for the ruling party, they tried to use that opportunity too much. Therefore, hostility to that among younger voters exercised an effect on the result.”
Choi Chang Ryul, a professor at Inha University in Incheon says that the Democratic Party strategy had an impact. “The strategy of the Democratic Party, ‘peace or war?’ was effective. It showed in Kangwon Province, a predominantly GNP province where the Democratic Party won, since residents of Kangwon Province are worried about the danger of a war.”
Park Hyo Jong, a professor from Seoul National University concluded, “In terms of security issues, it was the midterm examination for the incumbent administration. Before the Cheonan incident, the GNP was far ahead of others, and now the people have judged it.”
