Populist pledges worsen antipathy toward contenders
By Kim Sang-woo
Lee's reputation as a competent administrator and an outsider had brought him popularity among the supporters of the DPK as an alternative to the Moon Jae-in era. However, what turned moderate voters against him were his private and public scandals: voice recordings talking to his deceased brother's wife using extremely profane language; criticism of his family members (his wife and eldest son); and allegations of corruption in a land development project while he was the mayor of Seongnam.
The last scandal involves an astronomical amount of profits going to private developers. Moreover, three key figures connected to the scandal killed themselves, raising all kinds of speculations.
The situation of the PPP's candidate is not any better. He has been tainted due to criticism of his family members (his wife and mother-in-law), while repeatedly making inappropriate remarks that raise doubts over his leadership abilities, in addition to being linked to pseudo-religious practices.
Yoon, who was appointed as the prosecutor-general by Moon Jae-in but resigned, surprisingly emerged as the presidential candidate of the main opposition party. He quickly received support from conservative party supporters due to his image of impartiality, fairness and staunch adherence to the Constitution.
Nevertheless, most South Koreans appear to be less than enthusiastic about the election, with many feeling there is a lack of choice other than voting for the candidate they perceive to be “less disliked,” with this election already being labeled the “most distasteful” in Korea's history.
The recent polls suggest that the outcome of the election is still very much up in the air. All in all, neither Yoon nor Lee has emerged as a leader who can resolve South Korea's numerous problems as president.
The biggest obstacle to their success appears to be the voters, especially young voters, who dislike the candidates and are disillusioned by their political parties.
The annual Korean Society Dissatisfaction Survey conducted by Seoul National University showed that six out of 10 Koreans are in a state of “chronic anger,” primarily due to the “immorality and corruption of (the) political parties.”
Maybe that is why both of the main parties' presidential candidates, in the attempt to woo voters, are coming up with populist promises seemingly every day.
After pledging to expand national health insurance to cover hair transplants, which was a huge success, Lee announced more populist pledges, such as having the national health insurance cover up to four dental implants, providing monthly stipends of 100,000 won for the elderly, and providing one million won as a basic income for artists.
In response, Yoon also pledged to raise the monthly salary of enlisted soldiers to two million won, and to provide support for post-partum depression treatment, among others.
The problem is that there is no mention of how the candidates will pay for them.
Meanwhile, the government is preparing an additional supplementary budget bill worth 14 trillion won, and both Lee and Yoon, hoping to win the votes of small business owners, are calling to increase that amount to 35 trillion won.
People's Party presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo criticized the government, the ruling party, and the main opposition party for pouring out this series of populist pledges ahead of the election.
“What is the difference between elections under authoritarian regimes and this election? This election is actually worse in terms of the harm it will do to the nation's finances and by passing the financial burden on to future generations,” Ahn wrote on Facebook.
“If there are presidential candidates who ignore essential reforms and blind the people with populism, it's a crime that steals the future of the people and the country in order to seize power.”
“The populist pledges made by the two candidates seem to attract votes despite the uncertainty of obtaining the financial resources,” said political analyst Yoo Chang-sun.
Populist politics is gaining traction. The DPK is determined to stay in power by it, and the PPP has also jumped on the populist bandwagon, making it unlikely to shake the country from its dependence on populist policies.
Korea is in a state of partisan polarization and disillusionment with establishment politics. And the two main presidential candidates and their parties are not acting with restraint or displaying any mutual tolerance.
There have been growing concerns in Korea among many experts about the politicization of the judiciary, the persistence of corruption and the determination to win in politics at any cost. It seems that it is urgently necessary for civil society to mobilize across party lines and outside of the party system to try to renew the commitment to basic democratic values and reform some of the political practices that are disrupting democracy and good governance.
Dissatisfaction with the political status quo can lead in two directions: The first is toward growing alienation, cynicism and withdrawal; the second is toward mobilization for reform. The first trend leads to decay and ultimately the breakdown of democracy, and the second to its renewal. Hopefully, South Korea will choose the latter.
Young voters in particular want a leader who will bring an end to corruption and make Korean society truly more just and fair. While many voters believe neither Yoon nor Lee can be that leader because of their many liabilities, eventually, they will have to make a choice.
I, for one, sincerely hope that it won't be someone who “boasts his finesse in dissembling and deception with bits of scripture to cloak his naked villainy,” according to the infamous words from Shakespeare's play, “Richard III.”
Kim Sang-woo (swkim54@hotmail.com) is a former lawmaker and currently the chairman of the East Asia Cultural Project. He is also a member of the board of directors at the Kim Dae-jung Peace Foundation.
Gender divide tactics deepen conflicts among young people
By Cho Hee-kyoung
Walking home one evening, I noticed a new booth that had been installed on the corner of a busy road. At first I thought it was an automatic teller machine (ATM). But upon closer inspection, it turned out to be an automatic fortuneteller machine. Soon, I started noticing these fortunetelling machines everywhere.
Fortunetelling is supposedly the second oldest profession in the world. Now in the 21st century, it has seamlessly adapted to new technologies and platforms. Proliferating through apps and social media services, the market for fortunetelling reportedly has grown dramatically among Millennials and Generation Z, better known as the MZ generation in Korea. A recent survey found that nine out of 10 people in this demographic have recently had their fortunes told.
What's behind this boom in demand for fortunetelling among the young? When do we want to know about our future? More often than not, it is when we are faced with uncertainty and anxiety. We want some assurance and psychological comfort even if they come from some game-like app or an automated fortuneteller. And perhaps no generation in the history of modern Korea has faced more uncertainty and anxiety than the MZ generation.
There is a reason why they are also known in Korea as the “sampo” generation, a neologism meaning the generation that has given up on three things: having a relationship, getting married or having a child, because it is too difficult to get a job with a decent income that would allow one to do these things as normally expected in life.
The young are raised in such intense competition from such an early age with a single-focused mission to get into the best university that they can. But now, even a degree from the very best university in the country is not going to guarantee one's future. No wonder they are feeling anxious and uncertain.
What is really despicable is that the presidential candidates from the two major parties are deliberately exploiting this fear and uncertainty on the part of the younger generation, particularly the young males, for their own political gain and in doing so aggravating gender conflict that is already becoming a fault line splitting our society.
The age-old formula of progressive younger voters and conservative older voters no longer applies in Korea. It is true that most people over 60 are conservative and people in their 40s and 50s are more progressive than not. But the MZ generation is fair game.
They have no particular allegiance to any one party and they feel no particular affiliation with any one ideology or philosophy. It would seem that what they seek is someone who would look after their wellbeing and address the specific concerns that they have.
Conservative People Power Party (PPP) leader Lee Jun-seok was a major beneficiary of this fluid political identity of the MZ generation. His election to the party's leadership was largely due to new young party members who joined the PPP because of Lee. He appealed especially to young males in their 20s for their votes and he is also betting that this demographic will be key to the outcome of the presidential election.
Based on that calculation, the PPP presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol is making a series of promises to entice young men to his side. These include: abolishing the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family; promising a monthly salary of 2 million won ($1,667) for all military conscripts; a bonus five points for those who have completed military service when entering the apartment lottery; strengthening punishment for wrongfully accusing someone of a crime (typically considered as having a chilling effect on victims of sexual assault from reporting the crime); banning the gambling-like reward system in a computer game (a popular complaint among young game-playing males), and so forth.
Not to be outdone, ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) presidential contender Lee Jae-myung is promising to include military service as part of professional experience (a huge advantage because the salary calculation in most workplaces still depend on number of years of experience rather than the quality of one's output); a daily training allowance of 200,000 won for army reservists, as well as other promises very similar to what Yoon has made, including a promise to delay introducing a tax on profits made by trading cryptocurrencies and other virtual assets.
It is possible that there may be some ground for young men feeling that in 21st century Korea, they are the victims of reverse discrimination rather than beneficiaries of any preferential treatment for males. But the reality is that female wages in Korea still lag behind those of males by at least 30 percent, one of the biggest gaps among the OECD countries; that women continue to bear the brunt of childcare and housekeeping duties; and that there remain unbreakable glass ceilings for females everywhere in society.
This is why gender conflict is not going to be resolved on its own soon, much less when there are populist presidential candidates deliberately stoking it for their own purposes. But the real power of the young is that they can transform themselves as well as the society in which they live. With a clear and critical insight, they must rid themselves of undesirable legacies and strive for real gender equality. Only then will everyone benefit.
Cho Hee-kyoung (hongikmail@gmail.com) is a professor at Hongik University College of Law.