[EAI Presidential Election Panel Survey] "Reading the Minds of Korean Voters in 2022" _Planning Intent

To track voters' perceptions and attitude changes on key issues in Korean society and politics during the 20th presidential election year, the East Asia Institute (EAI) conducted a two-part panel survey, before and after the election, in collaboration with Korea Research. The first panel survey was conducted from January 12 (Wed) to 15 (Sat) for four days, targeting 1,515 men and women aged 18 and above residing nationwide, using a quota sampling method based on region, gender, and age, utilizing a RDD sampling frame of wireless telephone numbers. The second panel survey was conducted in the same manner from March 10 (Thu) to 15 (Tue) for six days, targeting a total of 1,104 respondents, immediately after the election.

The research team, led by Professor Kang Won-taek of Seoul National University, paid particular attention to the fact that the 20th presidential election was widely discussed as an unprecedented 'disliked candidate' election. They investigated the background behind the tug-of-war between the 'regime change' and 'regime continuation' arguments, and the emergence of social polarization and generational division as key topics. Consequently, the first report on candidate unification, the defection from the Democratic Party, and regionalism was published on March 28 (Mon). The second report, focusing on voters in their 20s and 30s, gender divisions, and generational divides across age groups, was published on March 30 (Wed). The third report, addressing partisan polarization, populism, and reform tasks for Korean democracy, was published on April 1 (Fri).

1. The Effect of Candidate Unification: Did Ahn Cheol-soo's supporters determine the presidential election winner?[Read Report]

2. The Choice of Defecting Voters: Why was the ruling party with 180 seats judged so harshly after only two years?*[Read Report]

3. Weakening of Regional Voting: Has the formula of "Progressives in Gwangju/Jeolla, Conservatives in Daegu/Gyeongbuk" been broken?[Read Report]

4. The Emergence of Young Conservatives: Have voters in their 20s changed their minds?[Read Report]

5. Youth Gender Conflict: Will it become a new fault line in Korean politics, transcending ideological conflict?[Read Report]

6. Intra-generational Differences More Significant Than Inter-generational Differences: Is it the '86 Generation' or those born in the 1960s?[Read Report]

7. Partisan Polarization: What were the attitudes of major party supporters during the 'disliked candidate' election?[Read Report]

8. Authoritarianism and Populism: Did the 'lesser of two evils' election rally authoritarian and populist voters?[Read Report]

9. Voter Partisan Alignment of Ideology, Policy, and Emotion: Is Korean democracy falling into the trap of destructive polarization?[Read Report]

10. Real Estate Policy and Candidate Morality: What was the impact of these issues in the 2022 presidential election?[Read Report]

* The second report, 'The Choice of Defecting Voters: Why was the ruling party with 180 seats judged so harshly after only two years?', has been made private at the author's request (2022.05.04).