Young voters distrust parties

By Lee Tae-hoon

More than 80 percent of people in their 20s and 30s believe none of the political parties serves their interests, according to a recent survey that Rep. Jeon Hae-sook of the main opposition Democratic Party obtained and provided to The Korea Times Wednesday.

“The outcome of the survey reflects the young voters’ strong disappointment in the political system,” Yun Won-cheol, economics and finance professor at Hanyang University, said.

Yun was the chief researcher for the survey of 594 people in their 20s and 608 people in their 30s that Hanyang University carried out from June 8 through July 9 upon the request of the Ministry of Special Affairs.

It showed that 83.2 percent of the respondents under 40 answered that there is no political party that advocates their interests.

By region, people in Seoul harbored the strongest doubt about the existing political regimes with only 12.6 percent replying that there is a party that speaks for their interests, followed by Gyeongsang Province with 14.8 percent.

Young Seoulites’ deep distrust in political parties played a crucial role for independent candidate Park Won-soon to defeat political heavyweights in the Oct. 26 Seoul mayoral by-election.

When asked why they dislike political parties, 38.5 percent replied that they see no benefits of having the political party system; 29.1 percent said parties rather provoke disputes than settling issues; and 27.7 percent answered that they have an apathy for politics.

And when asked to pick one critical factor that would determine their choice, only 14 percent of those in their 20s replied that they would pick a candidate in consideration of his or her party affiliation.

Among people in their 30s, 20 percent said party affiliation is a crucial factor for them to cast a ballot, suggesting that more people begin to recognize the importance of the party system as they grow older.

The survey found that the young voters regard campaign pledges and policies of candidates as the single most important factor for them to make a decision.

Some 48 percent of respondents in their 20s and 42.5 percent in their 30s answered that they would cast a ballot based on candidates’ campaign pledges and policies.

Meanwhile, 42.1 percent in their 20s and 42.9 percent in their 30s said that the economy is the most important issue that politicians should take care of, followed by welfare and education.