Why are these elections important?
South Koreans will go to the polls on April 10 to elect a new 300-member National Assembly. The parliamentary elections are widely seen as a midterm referendum on President Yoon Suk Yeol. They will also serve as a vote of confidence toward the opposition Democratic Party, which has held the majority in the Assembly for the past four years.
Mr Yoon won the presidential election in March 2022 by a razor-thin margin, and three months later his People Power Party won most elections for mayors and provincial governors in major cities. But two major handicaps have hampered his presidency: his party’s lack of control in the unicameral assembly and Yoon’s low approval ratings.
An election victory for his party could boost Yoon’s four major reform programs in the country’s health, education, labor and national pension systems, as well as his pledge to get rid of the country’s gender equality ministry to purchase. Mr. Yoon will also see it as lending political legitimacy to his policy of aligning South Korea more closely with the United States.
But if the opposition wins a decisive victory, it will further weaken Yoon’s leadership and make him an early lame duck, political analysts say.
What are the major election problems?
South Korea faces a host of problems for which there are no easy solutions: a slowing economy, runaway housing prices, a rapidly aging population, a widening income gap, a gender gap, especially among the young generation, and a growing nuclear and missile threat from North Korea.
But South Korea’s increasing political polarization means that virtually every sensitive issue is viewed through a partisan lens. And political analysts say it also means that this election is not based on a lengthy policy debate, but more about stoking and playing on voters’ fears and resentments toward the other side.
Surveys in recent weeks showed a majority of South Koreans disapproved of Mr. Yoon’s performance, which has emerged as a major election issue. He was unpopular, especially among voters in their 50s and younger. But the same surveys also found that respondents were suspicious of the Opposition Democratic Party, whose leader, Lee Jae-myung, was on trial on bribery and other criminal charges.
Yoon’s party is appealing to conservative voters, saying the election victory would boost his campaign to drive what he calls corrupt “anti-state” progressives from the center of South Korean politics.
The liberal opposition’s main slogan is to “punish” the Yoon government for everything from rising consumer prices to its veto of a bill that would have launched an independent investigation into corruption allegations against the first lady, Kim Keon Hee.
How do they select the Assembly?
Of the 300 parliamentary seats up for grabs, 254 will be elected by voting in as many constituencies across the country. Those races will largely be a battle between the two main parties: Yoon’s People Power Party and the opposition Democratic Party. The remaining 46 seats, which are not linked to a constituency, are divided among smaller political parties, roughly based on the number of votes they win in parallel national polls.
Political parties only finished nominating their candidates less than a month before Election Day, leaving voters little time to study them and the issues they represent. But in South Korea, parliamentary elections are often determined more by the popularity of political parties and the incumbent president than by individual candidates.
When will we hear the result?
Voting starts at 6am local time, and unless there is an extremely close race, it should be clear early the next day which party has won.
Where can I find more information?
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