Focus on South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol, cost of living, inflation as country goes to polls

VOTERS TURNING TO ALTERNATIVE PARTIES

Elections in South Korea are often dominated by two major parties, the ruling People Power Party led by Mr Han Dong Hoon and the opposition Democratic Party led by Lee Jae Myung, who is on trial for alleged fraud and corruption.

But many Koreans fed up with traditional politics are turning to alternative parties, especially the Rebuilding Korea Party, launched just about five weeks ago by former justice minister Cho Kuk.

Cho Kuk was indicted on charges including bribery and document fraud in 2019, when Mr Yoon was prosecutor-general. He was sentenced to two years’ jail but is waiting for an appeals court decision by the Supreme Court.

There are concerns that if his party wins sufficient votes, he could form an alliance with the Democratic Party, making it impossible for Mr Yoon’s ruling party to hold a majority in parliament.

“We will be able to first of all, make a lame duck out of the current incumbent government, and then move on to make him (Mr Yoon) a dead duck. I won’t be sure if he will be able to finish his remaining three years in office or not. Our ultimate aim is to make him politically incapacitated. And then finally we’ll see if he can be impeached or not,” Cho Kuk told foreign media during a briefing last month. 

Experts said it is the swing voters, mostly in their 20s and 30s, who will determine the outcome of this election.

“As someone from a regional background, I seem to prioritise a bit more the equalisation of development between the capital region and the provinces. And I think it’s important to consider who will be able to bring in more investment, build more things here like cultural facilities, since there is a shortage of such facilities,” said one young voter. 

“I was going to look at the agendas and decide. But their pledges don’t seem to resonate much with me. In addition, I don’t think it’s good for one side to have too much power because then they can act as they please,” said another young voter.