Lee Circulates Community Posts, Yoon Claims False Accusation
20s Woman Says "Hope They Focus on Youth Life Instead of Division"
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] The presidential candidates from both ruling and opposition parties who have advanced to the finals are competing to woo the 'I-dae-nam' (men in their 20s) vote as a strategy to secure the youth vote. Meanwhile, women in their 20s express concerns that they have not decided on their vote and feel "marginalized." In response, voices are calling for a perspective that looks at the lives of the entire generation, including jobs and real estate, rather than focusing on individual groups.
'A unified voice for abolishing the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, targeting feminism'
On the 10th, Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, shared an online community post titled "A Letter from Hong Ka-dan to Candidate Lee Jae-myung" on Facebook, saying, "Let's read it together once." The content of the post stated that the writer was a supporter of Hong Jun-pyo of the People Power Party and supported Lee because he was the only candidate who responded to the request to eliminate feminism. The post urged Lee to "stop this madness of feminism."
This was not the first time Lee shared such content. Earlier, on the 8th, right after a Central Election Committee meeting, Lee printed and distributed a similar post titled "Why 2030 men gathered on Femco to support Hong (Hong Jun-pyo)" to attendees. When controversy arose, Lee explained on Facebook on the 10th that "the reason I recommended reading that post was to convey the desperate cries of young people who feel that there is not a single politician listening to the voices of the 2030 youth."
On the 9th, Lee also proposed changing the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family to the Ministry of Equal or Gender-Equal Family and adjusting some of its functions via Facebook.
Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party presidential candidate, also pursued policies targeting men in their 20s and 30s during the primary. Like Lee, Yoon pledged to reorganize the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family into the Ministry of Gender-Equal Family. He also promised to add a false accusation clause to the Special Act on the Punishment of Sexual Violence Crimes. These issues have been highly controversial within women's circles.
Earlier, in an invited lecture titled "As Expected, Conservatives" at the National Assembly in August, Yoon stated, "Feminism has been politically abused to the extent that it emotionally blocks even healthy relationships between men and women," adding, "Feminism should be healthy feminism," which drew criticism.
Are only 'I-dae-nam' youth?
As candidates from both parties focus on feminism and court men in their 20s and 30s, female voters are pushing back. Office worker Jung (27) said, "The current presidential candidates' pledges are too male-centered, so I feel marginalized," adding, "It is disappointing that they try to capture votes with trending issues every moment. As a woman in her 20s, honestly, there is no one I want to vote for."
Kim (31) also said, "It is unfortunate to view the opinions of the entire youth as if they come only from some communities," and added, "Instead of focusing on gender conflicts and 'divide and conquer,' I hope they listen to what various young people need to live."
Ryu Ho-dang, a Justice Party lawmaker, expressed concern on social media on the 11th, saying, "The two 'old men' candidates ultimately failed to empathize with women's lives and selectively chose citizens for election," and added, "It's not the candidates of the two parties but you who are the concern."
This is also reflected in actual poll support rates. According to a presidential two-way race poll conducted by Research View on the 6th and 7th among 1,000 men and women nationwide aged 18 and over, 29% of women in their 20s responded that they have no preferred candidate or do not know, higher than 16% of men in their 20s. Notably, the proportion choosing 'other candidates' rather than the two main candidates (18%) was also higher than other generations and age groups, which were below 10%. (The survey was conducted via 85% mobile phones and 15% landlines, with a sampling error of ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, and a response rate of 4.7%. For details, refer to the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website.)
Candidates misreading the essence of the 'Hong Jun-pyo phenomenon'
Despite criticisms that the 'polarization phenomenon' in the presidential race is intensifying, candidates explain that they have no choice but to make safe choices. A political insider affiliated with a presidential campaign said, "From the perspective of 'old men' candidates, the vote of women in their 20s is a territory that cannot be easily touched. They might face a 'backlash' if they do," adding, "It would be great to attract youth votes regardless of gender, but for now, securing the 'I-dae-nam' vote is the safest strategy."
However, experts diagnose that this could lead to a misguided campaign. Park Sang-chul, a professor at Kyonggi University's Graduate School of Policy, said, "Even specific policies abruptly shifting to those for so-called 'I-dae-nam' are nothing more than simple vote-buying," adding, "This increases the likelihood of voting based on the interests of each group." He further said, "They have misread the essence of the 'Hong Jun-pyo phenomenon,' which calls for empathy from the youth's perspective," and added, "Regardless of generation or gender, campaigns should reflect on and develop whether issues like jobs and real estate genuinely serve the youth."
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