SEOUL -- A sharp drop in support among young voters drove home decisive defeats for candidates from the left-leaning party of South Korean President Moon Jae-in in two key mayoral elections Wednesday, in a body blow for Moon ahead of the presidential election set for March 2022.
A string of scandals and controversies involving issues crucial to young people --such as employment, military service and university entrance exams -- has resulted in many of these previously staunch supporters deserting Moon's Democratic Party of Korea in an about-face that could sway the outcome of next year's election.
-- Vocal opposition
Oh Se-hoon of the conservative opposition People Power Party secured victory in Seoul's mayoral election.
During a campaign rally, Oh's office staff set up a site for attendees to freely voice their opinions. Young people who took the microphone delivered a flurry of stinging criticisms of the government.
"Don't ignore young people," one said, and another added, "Moon administration, use our tax money properly."
According to exit polls conducted by three South Korean TV stations including KBS, Oh gained a higher percentage of votes than the ruling party candidate in all demographics except men in their 40s and women aged 18 to 20. Support for the opposition party was especially strong among men aged 18 to 20, where Oh routed the ruling party candidate by more than 50 percentage points. Oh also received about twice as many votes as his opponent among men in their 30s.
-- Scandal after scandal
The Moon administration came to power with a call to create a fairer society. A major factor precipitating the ruling party's defeat was a barrage of scandals and issues that many young people felt showed inequalities remained in society.
Former Justice Minister Cho Kuk resigned in 2019 over scandals including allegations that his daughter's academic achievements were falsified to unfairly gain admission to a university. Cho's successor, Choo Mi-ae, was embroiled in controversy over allegations that she leaned on officials to give her son preferential treatment, such as extra vacation days, while he was serving in the military.
South Korean society places extreme importance on academic achievement. Young people there bristle when it comes to allegations of cheating to enter universities. In addition, many young people are struggling to find good jobs. The youth unemployment rate has been devastatingly high. All South Korean men are required to serve in the military, which can affect their opportunities to secure employment. These factors seem to be why the scandal involving military service triggered an especially harsh reaction among young male voters in the mayoral elections.
South Koreans in their 30s and younger actively attended the candlelight protests that culminated in the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye. "This is a warning that politicians must pay close attention to young people," said a political consultant in South Korea.
-- Female support waning
Moon had been very popular among women. In the early days of his administration, Moon even called himself a "feminist president" as he vowed to improve the status of women in society. However, the exit polls indicated the ruling party also had struggled to win the support of female voters.
The Seoul and Busan elections were held after both former mayors, who were from Moon's party, were accused of sexual harassment while in office. The Seoul mayor committed suicide; the Busan mayor stepped down. In another damaging gaffe during the election campaign, a senior official of the ruling camp was forced to apologize and resign after he said victims "should be called 'self-proclaimed victims'" until it is confirmed that a crime has been committed. These controversies and comments also apparently influenced the voting preferences of women in these mayoral elections.
According to the Chosun Ilbo newspaper, the opposition party won more votes than the ruling party in all 25 of Seoul's districts and all 16 of Busan's. In recent years, left-wing parties have dominated elections in Seoul, but this time the conservative party stormed to victory with some margins of 10 to 20 percentage points. Support for Moon appears to be slipping across the board, and antipathy toward his ruling party is growing stronger.
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