Short Interview with the Author of [Changing Korean Voters]: Part 10. Lessons from 0.73% for a Divided Korean Society?

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fr8TNjGqsHg

The East Asia Institute (EAI) is operating the project <Changing Korean Voters>, which researches the 20th presidential election and reform agendas in Korean politics, based on the presidential 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 short interview videos with the authors to present key points for observing the trends of public sentiment changes revealed by this election.

■ Author: Kang Won-taek_Professor, Department of Political Science and International Relations, Seoul National University. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), UK. He has served as President of the Korean Political Science Association and the Korean Political Parties Association. His main research areas include Korean politics, parliament, elections, and political parties. His major publications include "Decisive Moments in Korean Politics" (2019), "Writing Social Science" (2019), "Korean Politics" (2019), "Democracy Created by Citizens" (2018, co-authored), "Evaluation of 30 Years of Democratization in the Republic of Korea" (2017, co-authored), and "Presidential System, Parliamentary System, and Dual Executive System" (2016).

■ Contact and Editing: Jeon Ju-hyun _EAI Researcher

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

Video Script

Although the results of this presidential election were very close, I believe the outcome has presented far greater challenges to Korean politics than the narrow margin suggests. First, the 0.73% gap between the two candidates clearly demonstrates how politically and ideologically divided Korean society is. I believe there is a significant challenge related to integration ahead for Korean politics. Furthermore, this election revealed the divisions in our society in various ways, as the conflict between women and men, or between genders, emerged in addition to the regional and ideological rifts that have existed until now.

I think this is the case. On the other hand, it also made me feel that it is time to review our presidential system and the electoral system in general. The two candidates from the two major parties had no political experience, especially in the National Assembly. One candidate had no political experience at all, and the other had no experience in central politics. In other words, it was the emergence of political outsiders. The emergence of such political outsiders can undermine institutional stability and clearly shows that existing political parties are failing to recruit and nurture new leaders or political elites.

Therefore, in Korea's presidential system, where strong power has been accumulated over a long period, elections where candidates cannot be judged based on past experience or verification can indeed cause confusion for voters in many ways and raise doubts about their future performance. In that sense, I believe that serious discussions regarding the reform of the presidential system should take place, using this election as an opportunity. Of course, positive changes can also be found.

The most important aspect was the heightened political participation and interest among the 20s and 30s age groups. In previous elections, the younger generation, represented by those in their 20s and 30s, has never received so much political attention or become so politically significant. However, now that they are politically interested and feel efficacious that their participation is crucial and can change political outcomes, I expect them to become a generation that significantly influences the future course of Korean politics.

Another point is that although regionalism, which appears weak and superficial, still exists, I believe meaningful changes are occurring. The support for Yoon Suk-yeol in the Honam region, particularly in Gwangju, and the change in support for Lee Jae-myung in the Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam regions indicate that the exclusionary regionalism, which has been maintained by each party focusing on specific regions and excluding others, can be changed if the parties make efforts. This election shows that the environment is different from the past.

In conclusion, this election, rather than the narrow margin of victory, has presented our society with far more homework, which can be summarized as follows.