HOW PRESIDENTIAL CAMPS ARE APPEALING TO KOREAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SEOUL 001203 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2027 TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL KS SUBJECT: HOW PRESIDENTIAL CAMPS ARE APPEALING TO KOREAN YOUTH Classified By: A/DCM Joseph Y Yun. Reasons 1.4 (b,d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: South Korean youth today are generally less interested in politics, do not have a particular attachment to a candidate or political party, and are most concerned with the economy and finding a job. Unlike in the past, where the majority of the youth held progressive views on politics, society, and social reform, the younger generation has gradually shifted toward the right, with some political pundits calling them "conservative" or "moderate." With the lack of economic growth and the troubled job environment many young people face, this generation is clearly interested in their own economic livelihood and is looking to the next president to promise them job stability and a bright future. ¶2. (C) All the leading presidential hopefuls are reaching out to South Korean youth in their twenties, which makes up 22 percent of total voters according to the Korean Society Opinion Institute, by promoting policies that promise to boost the economy and create jobs. Poloffs met with advisors of presidential hopefuls to learn what they are doing to attract young voters; we found that almost all candidates were active at universities, either by giving speeches or by forming student clubs in support of their candidacy, and that all have created websites to display amusing and interesting clips of themselves in an attempt to appeal to younger voters directly. END SUMMARY. -------------- SOHN HAK-KYU: MOST WEB SAVVY -------------- ¶3. (C) Lee Yoon-Saeng, Public Information Assistant to Sohn Hak-kyu, told poloffs that Sohn is appealing to youth by promoting policies that boost job creation. The Sohn campaign's preferred medium is the internet. Richard Hwang, responsible for political content on Pandora TV, the most popular video-streaming user-created content site in Korea, (dubbed Korea's YouTube),told poloffs that Sohn Hak-kyu's camp is using UCC technology the best, posting at least three clips a day, and is the most favored among users. -------------- LEE MYUNG-BAK: POOREST "IMAGE POLITICS" -------------- ¶4. (U) Polling and planning assistant to Lee Myung-bak, Kwon Taeg-ky from the Anguk Forum, told poloffs that sixty percent of the universities in South Korea have volunteers promoting Lee's candidacy through e-mails and small group discussions. Lee also has an internet fan club which started last July. According to Kwon, to appeal to young voters, Lee is trying to show he has a varied economic vision for the future by promoting concepts, such as his proposed canal project, his background as CEO, and his recent trip to Dubai, which demonstrated his ability to meet with a foreign leader. In the cyber world, however, Lee appears to be having a harder time. According to Hwang, Lee is the least savvy candidate when it comes to "image politics," due to his background as a CEO, his age, and the lack of interesting images his camp posts on the site. -------------- PARK GEUN-HYE: THE CELEBRITY -------------- ¶5. (C) Park is appealing to youth by visiting college campuses around the country, giving speeches, and meeting students to show off her young and energetic side. Park's advisor Walter Paik told poloffs that she is reaching out to the public one handshake and hug at a time; she often schedules time to meet students informally when delivering lectures on campuses. On the policy-side, she is reaching out to youth by focusing on economic development and education reform. She promotes giving universities more administrative control, allowing colleges to select the students they wish to accept. (NOTE: Currently the Ministry of Education controls all university policies and universities rely on a national test score to determine entry to top universities. END NOTE.) Park is also appealing to young people through the internet. According to Hwang from Pandora TV, Park received the second most hits among users, probably for posting clips that focus on her personality and her appeal as a woman. ¶6. (SBU) Park already has a built-in upper hand in image politics, since young Koreans, especially women, tend to view her more as a celebrity than a politician, according to Chung Kyung-san, Park's polling information assistant. As a result, Park's camp does not feel the need to do much additional outreach to the young generation. However, Chung told poloffs that Park's camp was concerned because Park's popularity has not translated into high approval ratings (she is currently second in the polls, with approval ratings of about 22 percent). In addition, Korean opinion-leaders in the "critical generation" (those in their forties) tend to underestimate her due to her quasi-celebrity status. -------------- CHUNG DONG-YOUNG: A HARD SELL -------------- ¶7. (U) Chung is having a difficult time appealing to youth, according to one of his advisors, Kim Sang-il, since young Koreans have become more conservative and less interested in social reform issues, the basis for Chung's platform. Kim told poloffs that because South Koreans are disappointed with the economy and with President Roh, it has been very difficult for progressives to reach out to the public, especially the youth. Kim told poloffs that Chung's camp realizes that they have a difficult road ahead to convince the youth that a candidate from the former ruling party, who has vocally opposed the FTA, can improve the economy. In an effort to counter criticism, Chung is developing proposals to improve the education system and lessen government regulations on small and mid-sized enterprises. Chung's camp is also playing the image card, such as reaching out to younger voters by lecturing at universities, forming internet groups to monitor what other candidates are doing and bring in new ideas, as well as posting clips on the internet to show Chung's "friendly" and "down-to-earth" image. -------------- POTENTIAL PRESIDENTIAL ISSUES -------------- ¶8. (C) Although presidential hopefuls are reaching out to young voters, most political pundits do not believe this young generation will have as large of an impact in this year's election as in 2002, in part because the political atmosphere is different than five years ago and because they are simply less interested in politics. However, Han Gue-young from the Korea Society Opinion Institute told poloffs that if new developments such as normalization talks between North Korea and the U.S. or a peace treaty was signed, it could ignite a peace mood among young South Korean youth and mobilize them to mobilize behind a progressive candidate. The economy will probably continue to be the primary concern for South Korean youth; secondary concerns such as education reform, shortening or even eliminating mandatory military conscription, could also have an impact on youth, although probably on a lesser scale. Strong leadership qualities as well as portraying an image that greatly appeals to the youth, regardless of his or her political affiliation, will also be important in attracting the youth vote. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶9. (C) South Korean voters in their twenties have little or no party affiliation. Their regional affiliation is a lot weaker than their elders'. For these reasons, they are more likely to be influenced by image politics than older voters. This is why all serious candidates are using the internet to deliver tailor-made messages. Despite their large numbers, we doubt that young voters will fully exercise their electoral power, because they are much more apathetic than their elders and their turnout could be as low as 30-40 percent. STANTON