By Kim Tae-jong, Kim Rahn, Lee Hyo-sik
Seoul residents, especially young voters, were far from enthusiastic about the free school lunch vote Wednesday.
Signs the voter turnout would not reach the minimum quorum of 33.3 percent were easily sensed at most polling stations from the morning.
There were no long lines of voters, which used to be witnessed in previous elections. At the same time, young voters were hardly seen.
As it was not a holiday, the majority of voters cast their ballots in the morning before going to work to determine whether free school lunches should be provided to all students or to just the poorer half.
At a polling station set up at Yeomri Elementary School in Yonggang-dong, Mapo District in northwestern Seoul, election monitoring officials saw a stream of voters arrive around 7:30 a.m. but there was no long queue.
“I have supervised other elections. People used to form a long queue for presidential or parliamentary elections. Of course they were held on holidays. Today, we are handling one after another,” said an official who identified herself only as Lee.
In Changshin-dong, Jongno District, where many people on a low income live, the turnout was low compared to previous elections. Most residents in other northern districts also showed lukewarm reactions to the poll.
In contrast, polling stations in three affluent southern Gangnam regions populated with conservative residents saw relatively long lines of people waiting to cast their ballots to support Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon. People stood in a 100-meter line at a polling station at a high school affiliated with Dankook University’s education college in Daechi-dong.
After 9 a.m., numbers started to drop and most voters were senior citizens and housewives.
Most participants were supporters of Oh and said the opposition parties’ populist welfare policy for full-scale meal provision will become a huge financial burden to them in the end.
A 28-year-old female company worker, who declined to be named, said, “I came to vote because I thought offering free lunches according to students’ financial status was reasonable, as Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon claims.”
Shin Min-jae, a 50-year-old man, at the polling station at Sinsu Middle School in northern Seoul said he delayed opening his store to cast his ballot as he believes he should stop the “unreasonable” free meal program.
“Unless we have an oil field in the East Sea, it’s totally nonsensical to provide all students with free lunches,” he said after voting with his wife.
But occasionally, young people expressed their support for the full-scale free meal program. “I think we have enough resources to start it if the government effectively imposes taxes,” college student Kim Min-chul said.
Some expressed disappointment with politicians of both the ruling and opposition parties.
“If a policy is good, people should accept it regardless of their political leanings. But politicians unconditionally oppose a policy suggested by rival parties, they oppose for opposition’s sake. I just voted for which I believe is better choice,” said a 65-year-old male voter.