ROK Voters Snub Ruling Party

June 04, 2010

By Ben Hancock

Roh, though unpopular during his 2003-2008 presidency, became a kind of martyr among liberals after he leaped to his death after being grilled over alleged bribe-taking. One Korean twitter user, @someiland, put a twist on South Korea’s bid slogan to host the 2022 World Cup, ‘Again 2002!’ to express his support for the DP. Roh won the presidential elections in 2002, the same year Korea and Japan co-hosted the World Cup.

Kang says the GNP drew a backlash for its attempt to hype the Cheonan sinking during the campaign, and adds that the election also revealed the importance of ‘lifestyle politics’ to voters.

For Jeong Seung-hui, a 31-year-old office worker who voted for the Democratic Party, the ‘four rivers’ project was among the most important issues. Billed by President Lee as an endeavour to clean up South Korea’s four largest rivers and guard against flooding, the project has been fiercely opposed by environmentalists.

Jeong says the ‘North Wind’ influenced her vote some—but not the way the Grand National Party might have hoped.

‘When the Cheonan first sank, the reason the people criticized the government was because of its slow response,’ Jeong says. Now, the administration’s overbearing reaction to the issue has had the opposite effect of turning off voters like herself, she adds.

‘This [outcome] is very important for the Lee Myung-bak government,’ says Jaung Hoon, professor of political science at Chung-Ang University. He notes that Lee rode victory in the 2007 presidential race due mainly to widespread support from young voters for his promise to revive the economy.

A perceived failure to make good on that pledge may have hurt his party.

‘When he was elected two years ago, people thought [Lee] was going to fix the economy,’ says Kim Jeong-joo, 28, who is studying for his masters in economics and voted for a third-party opposition candidate in his home province of Gyeonggi. ‘But I don’t see any difference between before and after he took office.’

But for Kim Ji-soo, 23, his Democratic Party vote was about checks and balances. The GNP has a strong majority in parliament and made strides in the last local elections in 2006.

‘All the power was in one place,’ he says. ‘So I thought it wouldn’t be bad to balance it out.’