Yoon's Pledges: 'Strengthen False Accusation Punishment', 'Abolish Ministry of Gender Equality', 'Soldier Salary 2 Million Won'
One-Line Pledges via Facebook and SNS Instead of Press Conference
Lee Jun-seok: "Lost 20s Won't Go to Lee Jae-myung... Can Be Regained"
Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, is giving a lecture at the "20th Presidential Candidate Invitation Sae-eol Morning Dialogue Lecture" held on the morning of the 10th at the Sheraton Grand Incheon Hotel in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon. [Image source=Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, has recently announced pledges such as abolishing the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and providing soldiers with a monthly salary of 2 million won, aiming to capture the so-called 'I-dae-nam' (men in their 20s) vote. After resolving conflicts with Lee Jun-seok, the party leader of the People Power Party, Yoon appears to be focusing on consolidating the support of I-dae-nam, who are a key base for Lee. However, these pledges have also drawn criticism for alienating the 'I-dae-nyeo' (women in their 20s) vote, ultimately being labeled as a 'gender divide' strategy.
Recently, Yoon has been presenting 'one-line pledges' on Facebook. As of the morning of the 10th, the one-line pledges announced by Yoon include three items: Δstrengthening punishment for sex crimes and false accusations Δabolishing the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Δproviding soldiers with a monthly salary of 2 million won.
Among these, the post about 'abolishing the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family' attracted attention with over 1,700 comments in less than an hour. This pledge is also receiving support on online communities mainly frequented by men in their 20s and 30s. Netizens responded with comments such as "Strongly support abolishing the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family," "The ministry itself divides men and women," "From today, I support Yoon Seok-yeol," and "The election ended with seven characters."
The reason Yoon is recently focusing on the youth vote seems related to the decline in support among young people. Yoon has been criticized for losing a large portion of the youth vote, especially among I-dae-nam, due to a series of gaffes, controversies over recruited personnel, and conflicts with Lee.
Earlier, a poll on next presidential candidate support among the 20s and 30s age group showed Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea leading competitors by double-digit margins.
According to a survey conducted by Realmeter on behalf of YTN from the 3rd to 4th among 1,024 men and women aged 18 to 39 nationwide, released on the 5th, Lee received 33.4%, Ahn Cheol-soo of the People’s Party 19.1%, and Yoon 18.4%. The gap between Ahn and Yoon was 0.7 percentage points, indicating a close race within the margin of error.
The sample error of this survey is ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, with a response rate of 6.9%. For more details, refer to the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website.
A message posted by Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party candidate, on his Facebook on the 7th. Photo by Yoon's Facebook screenshot.
Some express concerns that Yoon’s aggressive moves to quickly regain support among the 20s and 30s could backfire and provoke backlash from young women.
One netizen commented, "It seems like Yoon is just saying anything because his approval rating is dropping. I don’t understand why he only thinks about men in their 20s. Are there no other citizens besides men in their 20s?" and added, "He recently recruited feminists but suddenly talks about abolishing the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, which makes him untrustworthy."
Voices criticizing Yoon are also coming from the political sphere. On the 9th, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said in an interview with KBS's 'Sunday Diagnosis,' "Looking at our history, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family has clearly left a significant mark," and added, "I wonder if people in their 20s are not yet fully aware of this."
Kim continued, "The ministry, which has been established for just over 20 years, has made remarkable achievements in gender equality, such as abolishing the family registry system," and added, "I wish discussions would focus more on expanding and reforming the ministry rather than abolishing it."
Sim Sang-jung, the Justice Party presidential candidate, also posted on her Facebook about 'strengthening the Ministry of Gender Equality (Women’s Ministry).' Unlike Yoon, who used a sky-blue background, Sim used purple, symbolizing gender equality, as her background color.
Criticism of Yoon’s pledges is also coming from within his party. Hong Joon-pyo, a People Power Party lawmaker, criticized Yoon’s pledge of '2 million won monthly salary for soldiers' as "nonsense" on his 'Youth Dream' platform. When a member commented that Yoon seemed to have slightly captured the I-dae-nam vote with the pledges of soldiers’ salary and abolishing the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, Hong responded skeptically, saying, "Well, I don’t know."
Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, has been heating up the presidential race by pledging to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. The photo shows the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family on the 17th floor of the Government Seoul Office Building on the morning of the 10th. [Image source=Yonhap News]
It remains uncertain whether Yoon’s pledges targeting I-dae-nam will translate into a rebound in support. However, Lee Jun-seok evaluated that if Yoon sets the right direction, a recovery in support among people in their 20s would not be difficult.
On the 7th, Lee appeared on MBC Radio’s 'Kim Jong-bae’s Focus' and said, "A significant portion of the 20s who left our party went to Ahn Cheol-soo or sometimes to Heo Kyung-young, but not to Lee Jae-myung." He added, "If Yoon sets the direction well at any time, I believe we can regain a considerable number of them. I hope he quickly sets the direction with a sense of urgency."
Experts analyze that Yoon’s pledges targeting I-dae-nam are a strategy to consolidate his support base. Political commentator Lee Jong-hoon said, "One reason Yoon is making pledges related to I-dae-nam is because he considers them a core support base," adding, "Also, the group that most defected due to recent conflicts with Lee Jun-seok is precisely I-dae-nam. Therefore, he intends to consolidate them first."
He continued, "These pledges will play some role in winning back the hearts of I-dae-nam," but warned, "However, it is a risky election strategy. Some argue that it means giving up on the I-dae-nyeo vote entirely."
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