Seoul Citizens, "Why I Turned My Back on the Democratic Party"

[경향신문]

Former Seoul mayoral candidate Park Young-sun heads out after visiting her campaign office in Anguk-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul on the afternoon of April 7. National Assembly press photographers

The citizens of Seoul turned their backs on the Democratic Party of Korea. Democratic Party candidate Park Young-sun was defeated by People Power Party candidate Oh Se-hoon in all 25 autonomous districts in the Seoul mayoral by-elections on April 7. The latest outcome was a complete opposite from how Moon Jae-in and Park Won-soon won the 25 districts in Seoul in the 2017 presidential election and the 2018 mayoral election, respectively. The latest result was hard to imagine even when compared to the twenty-first parliamentary elections just a year ago, when the Democratic Party won in 41 electoral districts with the exception of eight including Gangnam. What is the public trying to say by forcing the ruling party to face an utter defeat? On April 11, the Kyunghyang Shinmun conducted interviews over the phone to listen to the opinions of Seoul citizens who had supported the Democratic Party in elections after 2017, but turned away in the latest election.

■ Twenty and Thirty-Somethings Felt Betrayed

Many of the people in their twenties and thirties said they had to express their thoughts on the hypocrisy of the government and ruling party.

Yi (29), a graduate student who claimed he was once a diehard Moon supporter, said, “I felt betrayed.” He mentioned the alleged privileges that the daughter of former justice minister Cho Kuk received in the process of entering university and said, “I despised seeing the Democratic Party pretending to be morally superior and clean.” Gim (27), an officer worker also mentioned the Cho Kuk incident and said, “I didn’t like the idea that we should protect him since he was on our side.” She said, “They even accused people raising reasonable issues of resorting to long established bad practices,” and added, “It was not different from what the Democratic Party had attacked at the time of the Choi Soon-sil scandal.”

The lack of gender sensitivity was also a major issue criticized by the younger voters. Jo (33), a worker who lives in Songpa-gu said, “The Democratic Party either engaged in secondary victimization or neglected the victim of former Seoul mayor, Park Won-soon.” Yi (26), a university student said, “Park Young-sun did not present better policies for women just because she herself was a woman.” She pointed out, “In fact, she seemed to use the fact that she was a female candidate as an election tool.”

■ Non-homeowners and Their Frustrated Dream of Owning a Home; Homeowners with Expectations for Reconstruction

Regardless of whether the interviewees owned homes or not, the real estate issue was a factor that made them lose hope in the Democratic Party.

Bak (31), a civil servant who did not own a home, said, “Just a few years ago when apartment prices were 600-700 million won, I thought my husband and I could buy a home since we were both working, but now all we feel is frustration.” Cha (41), who lived in a jeonse-leased (lump-sum deposit) home in Yeongdeungpo-gu said, “When the conservatives were in power in the past, housing prices only rose in speculation-prone areas, but under the incumbent government, speculation is rampant in the entire country.” He added, “The unconditional regulations didn’t seem to be effective.”

Meanwhile, for homeowners, reconstruction and redevelopment were the factors that influenced their votes. Choi (41), who owns an apartment in Ilwon-dong, which is scheduled to be redeveloped, said, “For people who only own one home, rising housing prices have no meaning,” and further explained, “All I can rely on is reconstruction, so I couldn’t vote for the Democratic Party, which has blocked reconstruction all along.” Han (37), who owns an apartment set to be reconstructed in Oksu-dong, Seongdong-gu also said, “Each time the gu office requested the Seoul metropolitan government for redevelopment, the city denied the request claiming that we needed to secure some units for public housing,” and added, “The apartment is so old that we have rusty water, and it was frustrating because the city unconditionally blocked our redevelopment.”

■ Small Business Owners, “Economic Stimulus Is Top Priority”

In the case of small business owners and self-employed people, many answered that the government and ruling party were immersed in fighting COVID-19 and were neglecting the economy. Gim (66), who runs a barbecue restaurant in Gwanak-gu, a Democratic Party stronghold, said, “I didn’t vote for the Democratic Party despite receiving the fourth disaster relief fund,” and added, “Economic stimulus is more important than a temporary disaster relief fund.” He also said, “Getting the disaster relief fund is good, but it is clear that it will boomerang back as taxes.” Myeong (51), who owns a café in Seodaemun-gu also pointed out, “Restricting business hours to 10 p.m. did not reflect the special situation of the businesses related to sales, services, and restaurants.”

However, most of the Seoul citizens who responded to the interview said that they did not vote for Oh because they supported him. Yi (57), an office worker living in Seodaemun-gu said, “I voted for Oh because I did not like the Democratic Party,” and Yi (33), another worker said he voted for Oh because she “hated the arrogance and unilateral handling of affairs by the ruling party.”

But they also said that if the government and ruling party did not change, they would not vote for a Democratic Party candidate in next year’s presidential election. Gim (57), who works as a cashier in a major supermarket said, “If the current situation continues, I will never vote for the Democratic Party,” and Gim (27), a college student also said, “If it’s the way it is now, I will abstain from voting rather than vote for the Democratic Party in next year’s presidential election.”