The front-runners in Tuesday’s South Korean presidential election have presented their campaigns as an existential struggle for the nation’s soul, and the victor will need to bring a deeply divided society together.
Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed declaration of martial law last year set off the election.
Kim Moon-soo of the right-wing People Power Party (PPP) is well behind Lee Jae-myung of the liberal Democratic Party, who is predicted to win in all major polls.
From Gwangju, the left’s spiritual center, to Daegu, a place for decades associated with conservatism, AFP addressed people about their positions and ways to bridge the nation’s split.
The recent martial law controversy has significantly impacted political sentiment in Daegu, a traditional conservative stronghold, with some long-time voters expressing disillusionment.
Lee Woo-hyun, a 45-year-old entertainment professional and conservative voter, told AFP that the martial law incident “really shook” him. He observed a shift in allegiances among older generations, noting, “When I talk to my parents and other senior citizens, I can see they are turning away from the red,” referring to the symbolic color of the conservative People Power Party (PPP). Lee explained his change of heart, stating, “Some might wonder how one incident could completely change my stance. But for me, it did. A lot of people in their mid-40s feel the same way. They don’t think what happened was right.”
Ko Seung-ju, an electrical engineering major, identifies growing fissures within Daegu’s historical conservative support base. “Younger voters are no longer likely to blindly support the conservatives,” Ko stated. He further noted that the Yoon administration’s decision to cut the national research and development budget has particularly affected science and engineering students, expressing his hope that it “gets reinstated.”
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