Lee promotes '18-year-old former committee chair', Yoon declares 'Youth Friendly'... Youth vote courting begins

20s and 30s Floating Voters to Decide This Presidential Election
Lee Jae-myung Appoints Many Young People to Campaign Committee... 18-Year-Old Campaign Chairperson Included
Yoon Seok-youl Declares 'Youth Friendly' and Continues Three-Day Campaign Targeting Young Voters

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate (left), and Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party presidential candidate.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] The presidential candidates from both ruling and opposition parties have begun efforts to capture the votes of the '20s and 30s generation,' which is expected to be the decisive battleground in next year's presidential election. As the youth demographic is identified as the swing voters who will determine the outcome of the election, both candidates are focusing on winning their support.

The proportion of undecided voters among the 20s and 30s generation is significantly higher compared to other age groups. According to the nationwide index survey (NBS) for the fourth week of November, conducted from the 22nd to the 24th by four polling agencies?Embrain Public, K-Stat Research, Korea Research, and Hankook Research?targeting 1,004 adult men and women and announced on the 25th, 41% of people in their 20s were undecided voters (31% have no preferred candidate + 10% don't know/no response), and 33% of people in their 30s were undecided (22% + 11%).

The undecided voter rates in these generations are markedly higher than those in △40s at 16% (11% + 5%), △50s at 13% (9% + 4%), △60s at 15% (9% + 6%), and △70s and above at 19% (8% + 11%). Consequently, both candidates have mobilized youth organizations and launched campaigns to court the votes of the 20s and 30s generation.

◆ Lee Jae-myung appoints 18-year-old as co-chief of election committee to target youth votes

On the 28th, the Democratic Party placed young people in their 20s and 30s at the forefront of their regional election campaign committees.

In particular, the Gwangju campaign committee appointed ten co-chairs, including Nam Jin-hee, a third-year student at Gwangju Girls' High School. Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party's presidential candidate, introduced Nam as "an 18-year-old high school girl," adding, "She served as the president of the student council at Gwangju High School and is a youth activist who has worked hard to expand the political basic rights of young people."

Earlier, the Democratic Party's youth campaign committee announced its ambition to improve the party's unfavorable image by creating committees such as "Stop Democratic Party's Old-Fashioned Behavior" and "Dislike Misandry and Misogyny."

On the morning of the 24th, they held a press conference at the Democratic Party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, for the "Dynamite Youth Election Committee," stating, "The Democratic Party has not escaped from being 'old-fashioned,' characterized by a teaching attitude, a belief that they are mostly right, and a one-sided approach to solving problems," and added, "This election should not be one that divides 20-something men and women but should be an election for the invisible and unheard youth."

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, is introducing Nam Jin-hee, a third-year student at Gwangju Girls' High School and co-chairperson of the Gwangju Great Transformation Campaign Committee, at the launch ceremony held on the 28th at the Kim Dae-jung Convention Center in Seo-gu, Gwangju.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

◆ Yoon Seok-youl courts youth votes daily, promoting a 'youth-friendly' government

Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, continuing his campaign to win youth votes for the third consecutive day, declared that he would establish a 'youth-friendly' government.

On the morning of the 29th, at a Central Election Committee meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, he stated, "The Yoon Seok-youl government will be a 'youth-friendly government,'" emphasizing, "We have promised to appoint youth advisors in all government ministries, and youth will not be mere recipients of policy benefits but partners in national governance."

In the afternoon, he held a launch event for the "Youth Committee Thinking About Tomorrow" together with the Youth Headquarters under the General Headquarters of the election campaign at a cafe near the party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul.

Yoon encouraged active political participation by youth, saying, "It is impossible to implement universal administration and policies that benefit our entire society based solely on the thoughts of the entrenched middle-aged and older generations," and pledged, "If I become president, I will assign youth advisors to the presidential office and all government ministries."

Prior to this, on the 26th, he attended the People Power Party's Seoul Campus opening general meeting held at Seoul National University's Gwanak Campus, and on the 27th, he visited the special exhibition "Masquerade" by young artists at the Seoul Arts Center.

Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, is giving a greeting speech at the 'Presidential Election D-100, Youth Committee and Youth Headquarters Launch Ceremony Thinking About Tomorrow' held at House Cafe in Yeouido, Seoul on the afternoon of the 28th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, according to the nationwide index survey (NBS) for the fourth week of November, Yoon recorded 35% support, and Lee recorded 32% in the next presidential candidate preference poll. Compared to the previous week, Yoon's support dropped by 1 percentage point, and Lee's by 3 percentage points. The gap between the two candidates widened slightly from 1 percentage point to 3 percentage points this week but remains within the margin of error (±3.1 percentage points).

The sample error of this survey is ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. The survey was conducted via telephone interviews using 100% mobile phone virtual numbers, with a response rate of 29.6%. For more details, please refer to the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website.