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.

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SOHN HAK-KYU: MOST WEB SAVVY
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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.

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LEE MYUNG-BAK: POOREST "IMAGE POLITICS"
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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.

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PARK GEUN-HYE: THE CELEBRITY
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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.

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CHUNG DONG-YOUNG: A HARD SELL
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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.

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POTENTIAL PRESIDENTIAL ISSUES
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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.

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COMMENT
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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