By Na Jeong-ju
The referendum on Seoul’s free lunch program was largely overshadowed by political mudslinging between conservatives and liberals, which became more intense in the lead-up to the vote.
That made it difficult for citizens in Seoul to consider what the referendum means to the future of their children and to debate on the country’s overall welfare policies in a “healthy” manner, analysts said Wednesday.
Since Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon proposed the referendum on the opposition-led free lunch program early this year, rival parties have traded barbs over whether it’s appropriate to feed all students regardless of their parents’ income levels with taxpayer money.
The referendum was on whether to enforce the program for all students or favor the conservative mayor’s proposal for free lunches for students whose family income falls into the lower half.
The issue became much more politically sensitive last week after Oh confronted an opposition campaign to boycott the vote by offering to resign as mayor if voter turnout fails to exceed 33.3 percent. Under the current law, ballots from such a referendum are counted only if more than one-third of eligible voters participate in the vote.
“Turnout became crucial as liberals boycotted the referendum. On the other hand, Oh and his conservative supporters only focused on increasing voter turnout,” said Yoon Hee-ung, a researcher at the Korea Society Opinion Institute.
“It just became a power game between different political forces. In the process, citizens were deprived of an opportunity to deliberate on what the referendum means to their future.”
Some other experts also echoed Yoon’s view, saying the fuss about the free meal program illustrated a deep-rooted ideological divide in Korean society and the gap between the rich and poor.
The voter turnout in wealthy districts such as Gangnam, Seocho and Songpa in southern Seoul was higher than other areas, meaning that Oh’s support base is stronger among high-income families.
“Rival parties only blamed each other without discussing the pros and cons of the free lunch program and how to form the country’s welfare policies,” said Kang Myung-hee, a professor from Hannam University in Daejeon. “There weren’t serious debates on the welfare of our children. There was just political fighting.”