Young users increasingly influential, making up 37 percent of eligible voters

The following is the third of a series of articles on Korean politics in 2012, when the general and presidential elections are taking place in the same year for the first time since 1992. ― Ed.

The estimated number of eligible voters for the upcoming general and presidential elections totals 40 million, according to the National Election Commission.

Among them, some 15 million are in their 20s and 30s and most use social networking services.

The rapid rise of SNS is becoming an important factor in elections.

“Through SNS channels, people have evolved from their traditional role as the audience,” said Jeong Ji-hoon, director of the Information Technology Convergence Center, Kwandong University.

“Everybody may now consume, produce and also deliver news and opinions over current issues.”

Adding momentum

The political leverage of SNS was proven in last year’s April by-elections, Seoul City’s free school meals referendum and the mayoral by-election, all of which were regarded as tests for this year’s votes.

In the Oct. 26 Seoul mayoral race, civic activist Park Won-soon overcame his handicap as an independent candidate and convincingly beat the Grand National Party’s Na Kyung-won, a success largely attributable to his support from prominent Twitter users.

Novelists Lee Oi-soo and Gong Ji-young, as well as Seoul National University law professor Cho Kuk led an active online campaign and defended Park from allegations by the right-wing camp.

On the other hand, Na largely lost the SNS users’ support when they suspected messages on her Twitter account were posted by her aides.

She was accused of being insincere in her communications and went on to lose the by-election, despite the full support of her party.

The power of SNS was also shown in Seoul City’s free school meals referendum in August, which resulted in Mayor Oh Se-hoon’s resignation.

The right-wing party, threatened by the liberal dominance of the internet, hurriedly stepped up its online campaigns and urged its officials to make full use of SNS.

Observers, however, pointed out that SNS communication should be voluntary.

Kim Young-gul, business administration professor of Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, said that conservative politicians often made the error of posting on social networking sites simply for show.

Winning back voters

The greatest political effect of SNS is the potential rise in voter turnout, according to Chang Duk-jin, sociology professor at Seoul National University.

“The use of SNS will affect the election results by up to 12 percent,” Chang said.

Last year, it became popular for SNS users to post photographs of themselves outside polling stations. Prominent Twitter users also offered surprise gifts to followers who did so in an attempt to encourage voter participation.

Such moves led to the development of new smartphone applications ― indicating nearby voting stations, offering cyber badges to those who confirmed their locations near polling stations, and sharing the SNS details of people with similar political inclinations.

“Such SNS content has added a fun factor to elections and other political talk,” said Chang.

“Those who remained indifferent to political events back then are likely to act in this year’s elections.”

According to the NEC, the turnout in the 2008 general elections was a mere 46.1 percent.

Chang also underlined that parties and candidates would have to display leadership that can embrace cynical voters and make enthusiasm for the elections last.

An increase in voter participation is also expected to influence the results, as a high turnout tends to favor the liberal camp.

In last year’s Seoul mayoral race, parties predicted that Park would win the race if turnout exceeded 45 percent.

New era of electioneering

Following the rapid rise of SNS, related regulations also became major issues.

As users mentioned the names of specific election candidates, the NEC decided early last year that SNS would be subject to regulations. Prosecutors also set to booking those who made accusations against candidates, or even those who explicitly supported a specific candidate, resulting in a fierce backlash from internet users and the left wing.

But the Constitutional Court ruled in December that the public election law clause banning online election campaigns did not cover SNS, effectively lifting regulations.

According to the court ruling, the election watchdog decided on Friday to allow all election campaigns using social networking services and other online tools without time restrictions, opening a new era in campaigning.

People will be able to post their pictures at the voting booth and encourage others to cast their votes for certain candidates on their Twitter or Facebook pages, even on voting day or before the official campaigning period.

“Despite some side effects and attempts to abuse it, SNS is fundamentally a free communication space and should stay that way,” Chang said.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)