By Kang Hyun-kyung
White-collar workers and college students in Seoul woke up early Wednesday to go to polling stations to vote against partisan politics, the mayoral race results showed.
Their sweeping support for a civic group activist as mayor of Seoul has rattled the political landscape and could have an effect on the presidential election in December next year.
Campaign watchers agree that the so-called “Ahn Cheol-soo factor” was real and detrimental to established politics in the election.
Ahn, a successful businessman and professor at a Seoul National University graduate school, came out as a winner in the mayoral race as he is widely viewed as playing a pivotal role in enabling Park Won-soon’s victory.
Yoon Hee-woong, a senior fellow of the Korea Society Opinion Institute, said the rise of Ahn would inevitably hurt Rep. Park Geun-hye, former chairwoman of the ruling Grand National Party (GNP), who was unrivaled as a presidential hopeful in opinion polls.
“The results of the mayoral election confirmed that Rep. Park’s support base in Seoul is not as solid as that of the GNP’s home turf regions,” he said.
“In the post-Seoul mayoral election, her strong standing in public surveys to gauge the competitiveness of presidential bidders will likely be threatened because of the strong presence of Ahn.”
The 49-year-old businessman has many followers among those in their 20s and 30s.
Ahn decided not to run in the mayoral race and backed Park. Campaign watchers say his formal endorsement of Park three days ahead of the election was a decisive factor that shaped the campaign.
Yoon said the computer genius proved himself to be a game changer, forecasting he will continue to remain a key figure in the lead-up to the 2012 presidential race.
According to the National Election Commission (NEC), voter turnouts were higher in the commuting hours from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and after 7 p.m. than at any other time, signaling office workers squeezed their tight morning schedules to exercise their right to vote for change.
The NEC said the average turnout in the morning rush hours hit about 8 percent, which is very high compared with that of 2.5 percent in the afternoon.
It said along with white-collar workers in their 30s and 40s, college students and those in their 20s supported Park Won-soon.
The age group’s huge support for Park sparked soul-searching at Cheong Wa Dae.
President Lee Myung-bak said Thursday he took the election results seriously and would bear in mind the message sent from young voters.
Asked if there would be any follow-up measures Cheong Wa Dae would take regarding the election results, Park Jung-ha, a presidential spokesman, said it was too early to elaborate what they would be.
He added there was no debate underway at the moment regarding possible post-election measures.
During a news conference held after activist Park was confirmed as winner of the race, the mayor-elect said, “Citizens won over political power and voted out old politics.”
Park said his win is a reflection of the combined effect of Seoulites’ anger, wisdom and action, and his vision.
Campaign watchers say the defeat of Na Kyung-won of the GNP was a warning sign against partisan politics.
Yoon said the mayoral race results showed citizens’ deep-seated distrust of political parties and inability of politicians.
“Voters were sick and tired of old-fashioned politics and this prompted them to go for Park who was from the civic sector,” he said.
“Citizens turned out to vote against the ruling camp for their mismanagement of the economy, rising commodity prices and bribery scandals involving senior officials and presidential aides.”