Instead of Handshakes, Finger Hearts; Instead of Events, YouTube... How the 'New Coronavirus Crisis' Changed Election Campaigning

Maintaining Safe Distance with a Nod
Targeting YouTube Instead of Street Events
All-Out Effort to Promote Faces of Preliminary Candidates

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jin-young] "Elections depend on physical contact, but we can't even shake hands..."

The novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia) has put the April 15 general election preliminary candidates in a tight spot. February is the time when preliminary candidates kick off their campaigns with election office openings, greeting voters on their way to work, and congratulatory speeches. However, as people are refraining from going out, the streets in the constituencies have become deserted. Events have been postponed or canceled one after another. Even when candidates go to places where people gather, they cannot shake hands, making it even harder to approach voters.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The unchanging principle of the general election, "Run at the graduation ceremony and then register as a preliminary candidate," has also been broken. Graduation ceremonies, where candidates can introduce themselves to parents with just one event, are practically another campaign venue. Especially since the voting age has been lowered to 18, candidates were reportedly looking forward to attending high school graduation ceremonies. However, as graduation ceremonies have been scaled down or replaced by broadcasts, and concerns arose that candidates' attendance could be criticized, the "graduation ceremony advantage" has also disappeared.

As candidates consider promotional methods that do not involve direct contact with voters, "unique promotions" have begun to appear. Instead of street campaigns, they are targeting online platforms, increasing relay videos. Choi Young-ho, a preliminary candidate for the Democratic Party in Gwangju Dongnam-gap, gained recognition by participating in a challenge on YouTube imitating the songs and dances of popular idol singers.

Doctor-candidate candidates focused on providing information related to the novel coronavirus instead of greetings. Lee Yong-bin, a Democratic Party preliminary candidate for Gwangsan-gu Gap, suspended election campaigning and is spreading prevention guidelines through social networking services (SNS) under the slogan "Gwangsan Primary Doctor." Similarly, Yoon Hyung-sun, a Liberty Korea Party preliminary candidate for Incheon Gyeyang-gu Eul, posted a video titled "Coronavirus Prevention Methods Explained by an Internist" on YouTube to promote himself.

The increased size of placards compared to before is also noteworthy. Candidates chose methods that attract attention while maintaining a safe distance from voters. They preferred simple designs with just a one-line phrase like "Have a happy day today" and their name. Kang Sang-man, a Democratic Party preliminary candidate for Seoul Jungnang-gu Gap, said, "I make placards visible even from places far from the greeting spot and bow."

The number of phone calls and text messages sent has also increased compared to the 20th general election. He said, "I personally made 500 calls on Sunday alone," adding, "Since I cannot visit directly, I have no choice but to send voice messages via KakaoTalk or call individually."

There are even constituencies that agreed on a bipartisan response and are competing in good faith. In Namyangju-eul, Gyeonggi Province, three preliminary candidates?Kim Bong-jun of the Democratic Party, Lee Seok-woo of the Liberty Korea Party, and Ahn Man-gyu of the New Conservative Party?jointly created election campaign rules for responding to the novel coronavirus. They agreed to practice measures such as ▲not attending events with large gatherings ▲bowing instead of shaking hands ▲including coronavirus prevention messages on all promotional materials. In their joint statement, the three candidates said, "Election campaigning cannot come before citizens' safety."

Meanwhile, regardless of party affiliation, each party continues to release election campaign rules for responding to the novel coronavirus. The Democratic Party has temporarily postponed the formation of the election committee, and basic councilors in Busan have decided to suspend domestic and overseas training and to refrain from handshakes and distributing business cards. The Liberty Korea Party has also launched a prevention campaign. Ha Tae-kyung, the responsible representative of the New Conservative Party, emphasized, "From this moment on, if you shake hands, you will be warned twice, but from the third time, disciplinary action will be taken."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.