YOUTH VOTE?
Just like many countries, voter turnout in South Korea is lower among the young. Just 57.9 per cent of eligible voters in their 20s and 30s cast ballots in the last general election in 2020, compared with 79.3 per cent for voters in their 60s and 70s, official statistics show.
Only slightly more than 50 per cent of voters between 18 and 29 said they planned to vote in Wednesday’s election “no matter what”, according to the latest Gallup Korea poll.
Experts say this is linked to growing dissatisfaction among young people.
While South Korea is seen as a global cultural powerhouse and is known for strong semiconductor exports, domestically the younger generation is struggling, with cut-throat competition in education, fewer job opportunities and sky-high housing costs.
Suicide is the leading cause of death for Koreans aged between 10 and 39, according to official statistics.
The older establishment class “does not really understand the precarious situation of the youth”, which is a key cause of rising “generational conflict”, said Gi-Wook Shin, a sociology professor at Stanford University.
As the country ages, old people become ever more significant politically. This “will continue to alienate young people from politics and voting”, Linda Hasunuma, a political scientist at Temple University, told AFP.
“Many already feel that substantive change is not possible with the existing system,” she said.
“Because older voters will turn out to vote, we may see policies that overrepresent their interests at the expense of younger voters.”
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