"Did They Uphold Equality, Fairness, and Justice?" O Se-hoon vs. Park Young-sun, Who Will Win the '2030' Support Race? [Han Seung-gon's Political Notebook]

"I am a 20-something with no experience" - Frustrated 20-something youth appears at Candidate Oh's campaign rally

People Power Party's Seoul mayoral candidate Oh Se-hoon (third from left) raises his hand on stage with Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People Party (second from left), and young people at the COEX East Gate Plaza in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on the 28th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] "Is there any one of 'equal opportunity, fair process, and just outcome' that has been upheld here!"

On the 28th, at the concentrated campaign rally for Oh Se-hoon, the People Power Party's Seoul mayoral candidate, held in front of COEX Mall in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, this was part of the remarks made by a job-seeking youth in their 20s.

With less than ten days remaining until the April 7 Seoul and Busan by-elections, the campaign teams of People Power Party's Oh Se-hoon and the Democratic Party's Park Young-sun are making every effort to secure supportive statements from the 20s and 30s generations. However, a 20-something youth who appeared on Park's campaign stage has a history of activity in the Democratic Party, leading to criticism that the sincerity of their remarks is questionable.

According to the People Power Party on the 29th of last month, the so-called '2030 Citizen Campaign Group' was planned as an idea by former Future United Party (formerly People Power Party) Supreme Council member Lee Jun-seok, who oversees the April 7 by-election campaign group, and former lawmaker Lee Jae-young (youth proportional representative). Although there were some concerns within the campaign about not pre-verifying citizens' remarks at the planning stage, former Supreme Council member Lee took responsibility by saying, "I will take full responsibility," and the plan was pushed forward.

Young man Yoo Mo giving a speech standing on candidate Oh Se-hoon's campaign truck Photo by Yonhap News

The youths in their 20s who appeared at Oh's campaign rally mostly mentioned 'unfairness' and 'future anxiety,' directly criticizing candidate Park and the Moon Jae-in administration.

Earlier, on the morning of the 26th, during a campaign, Park was asked by reporters about the low support rate among people in their 20s. She said, "People in their 20s may have less experience with past history compared to those in their 40s and 50s. So, they tend to view the current situations only from the present perspective," which drew harsh criticism from the 20s generation.

Following Park's remarks, a youth who introduced himself as a job seeker criticized at Oh's campaign rally at COEX on the 28th, saying, "To borrow a candidate's words, I am one of the inexperienced 20s. I will share why inexperienced 20s vote for Oh Se-hoon and why they do not vote for Park Young-sun." He clarified that he is neither a member of the People Power Party nor an insider.

When the remarks became controversial, Park explained that there was distortion in the words themselves. On the same day, appearing on JTBC, Park said, "Whatever the reason, if anyone felt hurt, I should have done better," adding, "For example, I was trying to convey a situation where a 20-something said, 'The People Power Party calls President Moon Jae-in a dictator, but since we haven't experienced the Jeon Du-hwan era, it's hard to compare the situations,' but it was distorted and edited in the report," she rebutted.

Democratic Party of Korea's Seoul mayoral candidate Park Young-sun is holding a concentrated campaign rally on the morning of the 28th of last month at the Gyeongbu Line plaza of the Express Bus Terminal in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Yonhap News

Meanwhile, on the 31st, at Park's campaign rally held at Taepyeong Department Store in Dongjak-gu, Seoul, a 20-something youth who made a supportive statement was revealed to be a former party official who recently served as spokesperson for the Democratic Party's National University Students Committee, leading to criticism that the 'voice of youth' itself lacks sincerity. It is pointed out that this is merely a supportive statement from a Democratic Party insider rather than an expression of youth's grievances and criticism of unfairness.

Introduced as a '28-year-old graduate student residing in Dongjak-gu,' Mr. A took the stage and said, "I came here to correct the distortion that all 2030 youth support candidate Oh Se-hoon," adding, "Although there was great dissatisfaction with the current government due to rising housing prices and the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) scandal, we must calm our anger and choose a candidate who can resolve this situation."

Although Mr. A was introduced as an ordinary youth at the scene, it was revealed that he had been active as spokesperson for the Democratic Party's National University Students Committee until earlier this month.

Regarding this, Hwang Gyu-hwan, the full-time deputy spokesperson for the People Power Party, criticized in a verbal comment, "It is despicable to disguise a party official as an ordinary graduate student to win the hearts of youth," adding, "Young people are turning their backs on such lies and hypocrisy of the Democratic Party." Among people in their 20s, there were also criticisms that this is truly a 'kkondae' (old-fashioned authoritarian) mindset. A 20-something university student said, "It really feels like a kkondae mindset," and criticized, "Wasn't it just arranged to get a supportive statement? Why has the Democratic Party become like this?"

Meanwhile, Park's campaign team explained regarding the controversy, "It was difficult to grasp the university students committee organization, so we failed to recognize this in advance."

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