[News Terms] The 'Double Header' That Will Decide the US-Korea Election Outcome

"I dislike both."

One commonality between South Korea's April 10 general election and the United States' November presidential election is the prevalence of the "double hater" phenomenon. A double hater refers to voters who dislike both candidates or parties.

Although this term may seem similar to the centrist voters who do not support any party until just before voting, the fundamental concept is different. Centrists may lack firm support for a particular party or politician but vote based on policies they care about. In contrast, double haters decide based on "who they dislike more." Unlike centrists who choose by evaluating policies despite having no preferred candidate, double haters select a candidate primarily to prevent the "more disliked" opponent from winning. This fundamental difference makes it difficult to predict their choices before election results are announced, making them a potential variable in elections. Especially when negative perceptions of major candidates or parties are high, the votes of double haters can determine the outcome.

The double hater phenomenon gained attention during the 2016 U.S. presidential election between former President Donald Trump and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Exit polls at the time showed that 18% of voters disliked both candidates, leading to the election being labeled a "disliked election."

This U.S. presidential election is expected to surpass that. The proportion of double haters who dislike both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump has significantly increased compared to four years ago. Recent U.S. media reports based on various polls indicate that 15?24% of respondents dislike both candidates. In the 2020 presidential election, when the same two candidates faced off, about 5% of respondents gave the same answer (according to an October 2020 CNN poll).

In South Korea, the 2022 presidential election also featured an unprecedented disliked contest between then-candidate Yoon Seok-yeol of the People Power Party and Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party. According to a survey conducted by Gallup Korea on March 10, 2022, the day after the election, among 1,002 voters nationwide, 17% of those who voted for Yoon said they did so because they disliked the opposing candidate, while 27% of those who voted for Lee cited disliking the opposing candidate as their reason. In political circles, there are concerns that this general election could also become a disliked election following the previous presidential election.