79% of Voters "Will Definitely Vote"... 90.9% Among Those Aged 70 and Over

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] In this general election, 79% of voters expressed their intention to 'definitely vote.' This is an increase of 12.4 percentage points compared to the 20th general election, with those aged 70 and above showing a high rate of 90.9%. The response that they have 'decided on a candidate to vote for' was 64.0%, up 5.8 percentage points from the last general election.

The National Election Commission announced on the 12th that, based on a second public opinion survey conducted with 1,500 voters nationwide regarding this general election, 86.1% responded that they "are interested in this election," and 79.0% said they "will definitely vote." Those who said they would "vote if possible" accounted for 15.1%, making the total percentage of those intending to participate in voting 94.1%.

Compared to the first survey conducted at the end of last month, interest in the election and the active voting group have increased, with interest and voting intention generally rising across all age groups.

Among those aged 18 to 29, interest and voting intention were 64.3% and 52.8%, respectively, in the first survey, but increased to 74.1% and 60.4% in the second survey. For those in their 30s, interest and voting intention were 83.3% and 71.3% in the first survey; in the second survey, interest slightly decreased to 82.2%, while voting intention rose to 75.6%.

For those in their 40s, interest and voting intention were 87.6% and 77.0% in the first survey, increasing to 90.9% and 84.4% in the second survey. Similarly, for those in their 50s, interest and voting intention were 82.7% and 73.8% in the first survey, rising to 87.9% and 80.3% in the second survey.

Among those in their 60s and 70s, interest and voting intention were 85.5% and 83.2% in the first survey, increasing to 91.8% and 88.8% in the second survey. Notably, those aged 70 and above recorded the highest levels among age groups, with interest and voting intention at 92.0% and 90.9%, respectively.

On the 5th, during the ongoing election campaign for the April 15 general election, banners of candidates from each party, including Lee Nak-yeon of the Democratic Party of Korea and Hwang Kyo-ahn of the United Future Party, who are running in Jongno-gu, Seoul, are displayed. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

The response that they have already decided on a candidate to vote for was 64.0%, an increase of 5.8 percentage points compared to the same period during the 20th general election (58.2%). Those who have not yet decided accounted for 36.0%. When considering factors in choosing a candidate, party affiliation was the most cited at 31.1%, followed by policies and pledges at 28.7%, and personal qualities and abilities at 25.2%. Political experience (5.5%) came next.

Additionally, 63.9% of respondents said they are aware of the candidates' policies and pledges, which is a 6.1 percentage point increase from the 20th general election (57.8%). The main sources for obtaining necessary information when selecting a candidate were the internet and social networks (SNS) at 31.2%, followed by media coverage such as TV, newspapers, and radio at 23.9%, and election promotional materials from parties and candidates at 18.6%.

On the 2nd, when the official election campaign for the 21st National Assembly election began, election commission staff were posting election posters on the fence of the Artists' House in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Among respondents, 75.5% agreed that 'my one vote in the election has an important impact on the outcome,' and 73.6% said 'the future of the entire country can change through the election.' Regarding the opinion that 'my daily life and quality of life can change through the election,' 56.0% agreed.

Regarding the atmosphere of this election, positive evaluations that it is clean rose by 6.0 percentage points from the first survey (49.8%) to 55.8%. Negative evaluations that it is not clean accounted for 26.8%. The main reasons cited were 'unfair reporting by media organizations' (31.9%) and 'mutual slander and black propaganda by parties and candidates' (29.0%).

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