Searching for hope in ballparks, not in ballot boxes

The nation goes to polls on May 9 while the the Korea Baseball Organization League is in full swing. The rare overlap of the political and sporting events has stirred a debate on whether or not a baseball boom will affect voter turnout. / Graphic image created by Cho Sang-won

‘3S Policy' in spotlight as nation goes to polls amid baseball boom

By Kang Hyun-kyung

Sports, along with screen and sex, are a powerful tool to control society and help dictators stay in power while reducing public resistance.

This is the rationale behind former President Chun Doo-hwan's push for the so-called 3S initiative all during his tenure.

The authoritarian government in the 1980s used sports, screen and sex (the 3S) to fan political apathy among the public and turn their attention to one-off pleasures in sports and entertainment from things Chun and his aides wanted to hide. Chun rose to power through a military coup following the assassination of President Park Chung-hee on Oct. 26, 1979, and what followed was a slew of repressive measures as his government brutally cracked down on pro-democracy activists to remove threats to the regime.

Several professional sports leagues, including the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) League and year-round football K League, were launched in the early 1980s under the 3S initiative. Baseball and football leagues attracted many fans to ballparks and soccer stadiums in spring, summer and fall. During the wintertime, people cheered for their favorite teams in basketball stadiums. The professional league for traditional wrestling — ssireum — was also launched in 1983. It was the Chun government that won the bids to host the 1986 Asian Games and the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

The back-to-back sports events all year round worried some politicians and they alleged the 3S policy was a plot to distract the public.

The nation goes to polls on May 9 to elect a new president amid the KBO League games in full swing. Baseball is one of the most popular sports in Korea and the KBO League drew 8 million spectators last year. Chun sowed the seeds for a baseball boom by launching the KBO League in 1982.

The rare overlap of the political and sporting events raised a question — does a baseball boom really fan political apathy?

Lee Chul-soon, a political science professor at the Pusan National University in the southern port city of Busan, disagreed, saying the 1982 version of the sports-politics relationship may no longer hold true for the 2017 presidential election.

"It's true that baseball is really popular here in Busan. But I don't think it will be a factor that could affect the presidential election," he said. "I guess baseball is more popular among the younger generation than the older generation. The question is whether those young baseball fans will give up their rights to elect a president for baseball. Well... I don't think so."

According to him, the younger generation, an inactive voter group in past elections, seems to be ready to cast their ballots for a change following the removal of former President Park Geun-hye from office. Those young people are sick and tired of old politics and witnessed first-hand how their participation could make a difference as they watched the fall of the former president after candlelit protests, he said.

"I think many of them will turn out to make their voices heard. If there are baseball games to be played that day, these voters will cast their ballots before or after the games," Lee said.

What happens in Busan, the second-largest city with 16 percent of eligible voters in the May 9 presidential election, has drawn keen attention as it could have some implications for the possible baseball factor on the presidential election. Busan has been called the baseball city for its residents' unrivaled enthusiasm about and support for the Lotte Giants. The southern port city is also the home turf for conservative voters who overwhelmingly cast their ballots in favor of the now defunct Saenuri Party.

Baseball city

Sajik Stadium has been crowded with Lotte Giants fans since the 2017 KBO opening games on March 31. The Busan-based ballpark topped the average spectators of each game with 17,491. The figure is higher than that of the two Seoul-based clubs — the Doosan Bears and the LG Twins, which marked 16,383 and 11,158 average spectators, respectively.

In politics, however, Busan residents' reaction to the upcoming presidential election is cool. A recent Gallup survey found the rate for undecided voters and those who answered they currently support no presidential candidates is the highest in Busan and its surrounding South Gyeongsang Province with 13 percent. The rate for swing voters in the region is also higher than the nation's average. Four out of every 10 voters there, who said they have picked certain candidates, said they could withdraw their support for them. The nation's average is 36 percent.

The crowded ballpark in Busan and conservative voters' cool reactions to the presidential election indicate voters there are sick and tired of politics and frustrated over the campaign race swept by liberal candidates, and they look for hope in the ballpark, not at polling stations.

Cho Jin-man, a political science professor at Duksung Women's University in Seoul, said the possible impact of baseball on voter turnout will be minimal. He said early voting and extended voting hours are two encouraging measures that could help more voters turn out. "The two-way race between Moon and Ahn is also an encouraging sign for a higher voter turnout because the tight race will motivate more voters to turn out," he said.

An analyst who has watched elections for several decades said one cannot rule out the possibility that the baseball boom will have some effect on the presidential election one way or another.

"I think its impact is hard to quantify though," he said asking not to be named as he is not allowed to speak to the media. "So even though there is such a thing as a baseball factor that affects voter turnout, it's going to be almost impossible to capture how much it affected the election."

He said the critical factor to affect voter turnout is not weather or holidays or other issues. "I think what really affects voter turnout is how close the race is. If a two-way race is underway and the gap between the two leading candidates is narrowing as the election day nears, this will encourage more voters to cast their ballots," he said.

Recent polls found two liberal candidates — Moon Jae-in and Ahn Cheol-soo — are in a neck-and-neck race. The public opinion surveys also showed an increase of undecided and swing voters weeks before the presidential election, which is rare considering previous elections, in which the rate of such voters went down as election day neared.

Conservative voters, who were disappointed by President Park, were behind the relatively high rate of undecided voters. They voted for Park in 2012 and were deeply disappointed by the conservative president after the Choi Soon-sil scandal.

Some of those conservative voters lost their appetite for voting, partly because there are no viable presidential candidates in the conservative camp. The support rates for the two conservative candidates Yoo Seong-min of Bareun Party and Hong Joon-pyo of Liberty Korea Party are in single digits.

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