By Kang Hyun-kyung
The clock was ticking down on the election campaign for the Seoul mayoral race Tuesday as voters go to ballot boxes today.
Of various voter groups, college students are widely viewed as critical voters holding the key to determining the election results after software mogul Ahn Cheol-soo formally announced his support for independent candidate Park Won-soon Monday.
Campaign watchers say a turnout of those in their 20s will have a greater impact on the mayoral election after the founder of the anti-virus vaccine provider Ahn Lab broke his silence to back the former civic group activist.
Several college students approached by The Korea Times said a campaign debate was in full swing on campus as the crucial election became too close to call as deadline neared.
Kim Ki-jung, a third-year student of the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, described himself as an avid reader of the campaign coverage.
He reads four newspapers every morning to update himself with the balanced and latest news of the candidates and the mayoral campaign.
Kim said he had one candidate in mind but declined to give the name of his pick-to-be. He said he will certainly go to the polling station Wednesday after school.
“I think the result of the mayoral election is a mock test foretelling how the two major elections slated for next April and December will turn out,” he said.
Kim said politicians on behalf of Park and the ruling Grand National Party candidate Na Kyung-won, exchanged barbs or were bickering to support their candidate, because they know their fate in next year’s elections is tightly linked to the election results.
Another college student Jeon Min-sun said she is anxious to know the election results as the campaign landscape says it is hard to tell who’s going to win. Jeon, a fourth-year student of Hanyang University, said she would vote for Park Won-soon.
Jeon made the decision after looking at Internet portals, social media and listening carefully to political discussions when her classmates talked about the election.
“I was wondering who’s going to win the race because the election will take place shortly after former Mayor Oh Se-hoon stepped down following a failure in a political showdown over free school lunches,” she said.
“I took the fact that Park runs in the race as an independent candidate to mean progress in Korean politics in that he refused to choose a party. If elected, he will not be influenced by partisan politics. This is a good start for a wind of change in the political arena.”
Jang Hyun, a fourth-year student of Soongsil University, backs Na Kyun-won.
He visits an online community, Agenda Net, and Internet forums to get the latest campaign stories and how bloggers or opinion leaders view the election.
Of various campaign issues, Jang said, free school lunches helped the public turn their attention to bread-and-butter issues from political and security agendas, such as the sinking of the warship Cheonan.
He said voters are interested in the upcoming by-elections more than the regular elections because issues like free school lunches, which are closely linked to their living standards, drew public attention.