[Changing Korean Voters] Short Interview with the Author: ⑤ Will Youth Gender Conflict Become a New Fault Line in Korean Politics, Transcending Ideological Conflict?

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bl66h0rIrQ

The East Asia Institute (EAI) is operating the project <Changing Korean Voters>, which researches the 20th presidential election and reform tasks in Korean politics, based on the presidential election panel survey conducted with Korea Research. Following the release of special reports by the research team confirming the current state of public sentiment, we are releasing a short interview video with the author to present key points for observing the trends in public sentiment changes revealed by this election.

■ Author: Kim Hanna_Researcher at the Institute for Korean Political Studies, Seoul National University. She received her Ph.D. in Political Science from the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Seoul National University and has lectured on Korean politics and party theory at universities such as Seoul National University and Ewha Womans University. Her primary research interests include electoral systems, voting behavior, parliamentary politics, and party politics. She has recently published articles in major journals such as Korean Political Science Review, Korean Party Studies Review, and Korean Journal of Legislative Studies.

■ Contact and Editing: Jeon Juhyun _EAI Researcher

    Inquiries: 02 2277 1683 (ext. 204) | jhjun@eai.or.kr

Video Transcript

In the "Changing Korean Voters" project at the East Asia Institute, the part I was responsible for concerns the gender divide within the Korean youth demographic. As you may know, when looking at the exit poll results from the three major broadcasting networks, the voting patterns of men and women in their 20s diverged significantly compared to other age groups. For men in their 20s, 58.7% supported Yoon Suk-yeol of the People Power Party, while for women in their 20s, 58% supported Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party. This tendency for over half of each group to overwhelmingly support opposing candidates was observed. Therefore, I explored the origins of this tendency and examined whether differences between men and women in their 20s are evident not only in their voting behavior but also in other aspects, using data.

First, regarding ideological orientation, the difference between men and women within the 20s age group showed a statistically significant and pronounced tendency compared to other age groups. Men in their 20s leaned towards conservatism with a score of 5.89, while women in their 20s leaned towards progressivism with a score of 4.64. When measured on an 11-point scale of perceived ideological self-placement, men's responses skewed towards the conservative side, and women's responses skewed towards the progressive side. This degree of divergence between men and women in their 20s was notably large compared to other age groups, which served as an initial point of analysis. This gender gap was also significantly evident in other attitudinal dimensions. In terms of favorability towards political parties, the degree to which men and women in their 20s favored different parties also manifested in opposing directions, which was another characteristic.

In terms of favorability towards individual candidates, there were also differences in support for Lee Jae-myung and Yoon Suk-yeol. Men in their 20s showed a very high level of preference for Yoon Suk-yeol of the People Power Party, whereas women in their 20s displayed a markedly cold sentiment. While such differences in candidate favorability were not as pronounced in other age groups, the disparity between men and women in their 20s was uniquely striking. This was another significant finding.

When considering why these differences arise, one of the values highly prioritized by women in their 20s is feminism and gender issues. Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party maintained a strategically ambiguous stance until just before the election, stating neither that he was a "feminist" nor an "anti-feminist." However, he later recruited the protagonist of the "Nth Room" digital sex crime case, who was involved in the "Tracking the Bullies" documentary, and displayed a decidedly pro-feminist stance in televised debates. This may have contributed to garnering votes from women in their 20s and 30s in the final stages of the campaign. Analysis of data before and after the election showed a significant increase in favorability towards Lee Jae-myung following these actions.

Furthermore, while women in their 20s showed high favorability towards candidate Sim Sang-jung, men in their 20s displayed a starkly opposite, cold attitude. This divergence in attitudes towards Sim Sang-jung was also a unique tendency observed specifically among the 20s demographic, unlike other age groups. Similarly, regarding candidate Ahn Cheol-soo, men in their 20s showed a strong preference, but women in their 20s exhibited the lowest favorability towards Ahn Cheol-soo compared to other figures. This indicates that the differences between men and women within the 20s age group were more pronounced than in other generations. These attitudinal differences were not confined to favorability towards parties, ideologies, or candidates but also extended to policy stances, revealing further divergences.

In response to a question about their support for gender quotas, the difference in the level of support between men and women in their 20s was the largest compared to other age groups. Significant disparities were also observed in attitudes towards North Korea, economic growth versus welfare, and the issue of gender equality, with the gap within the 20s demographic being notably wider than in other generations. To summarize my analysis, the differences in voting behavior between men and women in their 20s observed in the recent presidential election are not merely extreme differences in vote choice. They also reflect distinct characteristics in ideological orientation, favorability, and various political attitudes. Fundamentally, whether this gender divide within the 20s will persist long-term requires further analysis with future data. However, it can be concluded that this is not limited to the 20s presidential election but is fundamentally rooted in differences in ideological orientation.

That is all. Thank you.