'Gender Conflict' the Cause? ...Divided Votes Between This Man and This Woman

Diverging Choices of Men and Women in Their 20s in the April 7 Seoul Mayoral By-election
7 out of 10 Men in Their 20s Support Opposition Candidate, Only 40.9% of Women Do
Impact of 'Gender Conflict' Emerging Mainly in Online Spaces
Experts Say "People in Their 20s Cannot Be Divided by Progressive or Conservative Concepts"
"Tend to Act According to Their Own Interests"

On the afternoon of the 6th, Oh Se-hoon, the People Power Party's candidate for Seoul mayor, shook hands with young supporters who gave speeches at the final intensive campaign rally held at Sinchon Station in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, greeting the citizens. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Ju-hyung] In the April 7 Seoul mayoral by-election, a pronounced 'gender difference' in the voting preferences of voters in their 20s was observed. While 7 out of 10 men in their 20s supported the opposition candidate, female voters in their 20s only accounted for the 40% range. This has led to the view that the recent 'gender conflict' surrounding the youth may have divided the political tendencies of men and women in their 20s.

In this Seoul mayoral by-election, the solid support base for Oh Se-hoon, the People Power Party candidate, was the youth in their 20s. According to the Central Election Commission on the 9th, 55.3% of voters in their 20s supported Mayor Oh, while Park Young-sun, the Democratic Party candidate for Seoul mayor, received only 34.1% of the vote.

When looking at the support rate of voters in their 20s by gender, a stark contrast emerges. A whopping 72.5% of male voters in their 20s supported Mayor Oh, while Park received only 22.2%. Among female voters in their 20s, Park's vote share (44%) was slightly higher than Oh's (40.9%). This shows a significant divide in political tendencies between men and women in their 20s.

The scene during the 'Hyehwa Station Protest' in Jongno-gu, Seoul in 2018. / Photo by Yonhap News

Some suggest that the so-called 'gender conflict' that recently heated up online spaces may have created the gender gap in political tendencies among voters in their 20s.

In fact, the political tendencies of men and women in their 20s were not significantly different in 2017, early in the Moon Jae-in administration. According to approval ratings from polling agencies such as Korea Gallup and Realmeter, the approval ratings for President Moon Jae-in among men and women in their 20s ranged between 80% and 90%, showing no significant difference.

However, the approval rating among men in their 20s began to plummet sharply from the second half of 2018.

For example, according to a Realmeter survey conducted from December 10 to 14, 2018, the negative evaluation of the Moon Jae-in government among men in their 20s was 64.1%, the highest among all age groups. In contrast, the negative evaluation among women in their 20s was only 29.1%, and their positive evaluation was 63.5%, the highest among all age groups.

Seo Ji-hyun, Deputy Chief Prosecutor of Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, is speaking at the roundtable hosted by the Democratic Party's Special Committee on Eradicating Violence Against Women titled "One Year After Me Too, Changes So Far and Directions to Move Forward," held in 2019 at the National Assembly Party Representative Meeting Room. / Photo by Yonhap News

2018 was a period when women's rights discourse became a hot topic, with events such as the #MeToo revelation by prosecutor Seo Ji-hyun and the so-called 'Hyehwa Station protests' condemning biased investigations into illegal filming. At that time, some male- and female-dominated online communities and social networking services (SNS), mainly composed of people in their 20s, engaged in debates over women's rights and feminism.

Among them, some male netizens criticized the Moon Jae-in government, claiming it was implementing policies biased toward women.

Earlier, during the 2017 presidential campaign, President Moon had announced a gender equality pledge, stating, "I will firmly keep my promise to be a feminist president." Some male-dominated online community netizens sarcastically posted comments such as "feminist government," "military personnel are neglected while women are favored," and "Did you elect Moon Jae-in to make a feminist president?" In other words, some men in their 20s who developed resentment toward women's rights discourse distanced themselves from supporting the government and ruling party, instead leaning toward the opposition.

President Moon Jae-in promised to become a "feminist president" when he announced his gender equality pledge in 2017. Some netizens expressed their opposition through 'dislikes' on the YouTube channel where the related video was posted. / Photo by KBS, YouTube screenshot

However, the support rate of women in their 20s for the government and ruling party has not remained unchanged. In this by-election, the vote shares of Park and Oh among women in their 20s were 44% and 40.9%, respectively, showing a very narrow gap. Considering that the support rate for the United Future Party (now People Power Party) among women in their 20s was only 25.1% in the 21st general election, it indicates that women in their 20s are also experiencing a loss of support.

Concerns about the trust of women in their 20s toward the government have arisen due to successive sexual misconduct scandals involving high-ranking ruling party officials such as the late Park Won-soon, former Seoul mayor; Oh Keo-don, former Busan mayor; and Ahn Hee-jung, former Chungnam governor, as well as controversies over secondary victimization of sexual harassment victims, including 'victim complainants.'

Notably, the voting rate for minor parties among women in their 20s was 15.1%, nearly three times higher than that of men (5.2%). Because of this, Kim Jin-ah, the Women's Party candidate, received 13,376 votes (0.62%) in this by-election, placing fourth.

Experts analyze that men and women in their 20s differ in the points at which they feel anger toward the current political sphere, and that these voters are difficult to categorize using traditional progressive-conservative concepts.

Park Young-sun, the Democratic Party of Korea's candidate for Seoul mayor, is leaving the party office after addressing the press at the Democratic Party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, on the night of the 7th. / Photo by Yonhap News

On the 8th, Yoon Hee-woong, head of the Opinion Live Poll Analysis Center, said in an interview with 'YTN,' "Although Park Young-sun received meaningful votes from women in their 20s in this by-election, it still remained in the 40% range."

He added, "Also, 15% of women in their 20s voted for independent or minor party candidates. This means that women were significantly influenced by gender issues. Men, on the other hand, were angry at the current government over issues related to fairness and real estate."

Political commentator Lee Jong-hoon said, "The current generation in their 20s is a group that cannot be understood by categorizing them with ideological standards such as traditional progressives or conservatives," adding, "It is necessary to fundamentally assume that they are 'post-ideological,' and because of this, they tend to act according to their own interests."

He continued, "It is highly likely that (people in their 20s) will continue to vote in this manner in the future," emphasizing, "Since these people are the future generation and will significantly influence the political landscape going forward, we need to pay close attention to them."

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