[Column] 'Citizen Passing' Elections, There Is No Later for Public Sentiment

On the 7th, when the April 7 by-elections were held, citizens exercised their precious votes at the 3rd polling station in Hapjeong-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] "No, I really have to tell our candidate something..."

As the April 7 Seoul mayoral by-election approached, an older woman who grabbed the hand of a candidate touring the area said this. When she began pouring out a heartfelt mix of complaints about her situation and criticism of the government, the candidate said, "I think I have to go now. Let's talk if there's a chance later," and hurriedly left. Witnessing such scenes was not uncommon during this election campaign period. With just over two weeks to cover the entire city of Seoul on a tight schedule, there was no time to endlessly listen to citizens' grievances.

Candidates visited 6 to 8 districts a day, merely ‘brushing past’ the citizens. The only sounds heard were the ‘things the candidates wanted to say’ and occasional applause. The usual events that followed were fist bumps and photo sessions. Sometimes young people were brought onto the campaign vehicles to pass the microphone, but it was hard to see this as a real opportunity for communication between candidates and citizens. Thus, the voices of the people disappeared behind the campaign vehicles and behind the large party names printed on the candidates’ backs.

The main issues of this election were not qualifications or pledges but ‘unification’ and ‘negative attacks.’ This was also the reason there was no space for citizens to express themselves. Even though this election was to choose the mayor responsible for Seoul for the next one year and three months, both ruling and opposition parties treated it only as a tool to influence their party’s future. Most media outlets also focused solely on the attacks between the parties. This is why this election became a festival or nightmare for them alone. Until the day before voting, it was common to meet citizens on the ground saying they would abstain from voting because "there is absolutely no one to vote for." The election that started with unification ended with ‘saengtaetang’ (ox bone soup) and ‘Ferragamo.’

There is no later for public sentiment. Politicians must listen to today’s public sentiment immediately. Given the difficulty of taking office after an unfortunate incident, the newly appointed mayor, the opposition party, and the ruling party that lost this time should all understand what Seoul citizens need right now. In particular, it is hoped that the new mayor will remember the many wishes of citizens encountered while walking all over Seoul during the candidacy period and reflect them in city administration.

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