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| Ten minor candidates in the Seoul mayoral by-election gained a combined 3.28 percent of votes. From left are Shin Ji-hye from the Basic Independent Party, Huh Kyung-young from the National Revolutionary Party, Lee Soo-bong from the Minsaeng Party, and Song Myeong-suk from the Progressive Party. Yonhap |
By Kim Rahn
The 10 minor candidates in Wednesday's Seoul mayoral by-election gained a combined 3.28 percent of the vote.
This percentage may seem small compared to the candidates from the two major parties, Oh Se-hoon of the main opposition People Power Party, who was elected with 57.5 percent, and Park Young-sun of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, who obtained 39.18 percent.
However, 15.1 percent of female voters in their 20s said they picked one of the minor candidates, showing that there is a demand for "third-way politics" that deals with more diverse social issues than just a few big concerns, such as real estate.
Among the 10, Huh Kyung-young, head of the National Revolutionary Party, gained 1.07 percent of the votes and came in third, becoming the only person among the minor candidates to earn more than 1 percent of the vote.
Huh has run in almost all major elections since 1997 with quirky campaign pledges, such as handing out 200,000 won ($179) in cash per month to every citizen, providing 150 million won to newlyweds and abolishing the property tax.
Rates of support for him have grown over time: he gained 0.15 percent in the 1997 presidential election, 0.4 percent in the 2007 presidential election, and 1.07 percent this time.
Many regard him as an "entertainer" rather than a politician, due to his unrealistic campaign pledges and eccentric behavior and remarks. But the fact that he ranked third in the by-election shows how citizens are sick of politics dominated by the two major parties.
"I agonized over whom to pick until the very last moment inside the polling booth ― between Huh and the other candidate (either Oh or Park)," said Park Seong-su, a 45-year-old office worker in Seoul. "I knew it was impossible for Huh to win the election. But both Oh's and Park's pledges were unrealistic and didn't make sense to me as well, so I thought, 'Then, what is the reason not to pick Huh?'"
Besides Huh, the nine other minor candidates obtained between 0.01 percent and 0.68 percent.
Five of them ― Kim Jin-ah from the Women's Party, Shin Ji-hye from the Basic Independent Party, Oh Tae-yang from the Mirae Party, Song Myeong-suk from the Progressive Party and independent Shin Ji-ye ― pledged to advocate for gender equality and to protect the rights of sexual minority groups, and combined, they carried 1.91 percent of the total vote.
These five candidates showed growing public attention to and awareness of gender issues and the rights of social minority groups, which the candidates of the two major parties both neglected. The two main candidates did not pay much attention to gender issues, despite the fact that the by-election was held because former Mayor Park Won-soon took his own life following sexual harassment allegations raised against him.
These issues and the politicians working on them are likely to garner more attention moving forward. According to an exit poll at the Seoul by-election, 15.1 percent of female voters in their 20s cast their ballots for the "other" category among three options: Oh, Park or "other."
