The Political Landscape Changed by COVID-19: Behind Lee Jun-seok's Election Was 'Mobile Voting'

The First Election Conducted with 100% Mobile Voting
High Voter Turnout Influences Generational Change
Introduction of 'Metaverse' to Strengthen Mobile Influence

People Power Party Leader and Supreme Council Member Mobile Voting
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] '30s Party Leader · Voter Turnout 45.36%'

This is an unprecedented record observed at the People Power Party's leadership election held on the 11th. Analysts suggest that the 'Ontact (Online Contact) election' played a role in this. The intensified 'high-altitude battle' driven by the desire for conservative innovation and the non-face-to-face situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic increased voter turnout and dismantled the traditional election structure centered on organizational power.

One of the differences in this leadership election compared to previous ones was the '100% mobile voting.' Mobile voting was first introduced in the 2017 leadership election but was fully implemented this year to reduce face-to-face contact amid the spread of COVID-19. This appears to have influenced the high voter turnout. The turnout rates in 2017 (25.2%) and 2019 (25.4%), when party member votes combined mobile and on-site voting, remained in the 25% range. In contrast, this election, conducted solely via mobile voting, recorded a turnout of 45.36%.

Regarding this, People Power Party lawmaker Kwon Seong-dong stated on Facebook on the 11th, "This election was virtually the first leadership election conducted 100% by mobile voting," and evaluated, "Mobile voting also contributed to the tremendous turnout and the rise of young candidates." In 2016, Kwon served as secretary-general of the Emergency Committee and pushed for the introduction of mobile voting but faced opposition inside and outside the party, resulting in failure. At that time, Kwon predicted, "If mobile voting is introduced, turnout will rise from 50% to 60%."

On the 11th, at the People Power Party Central Party Office in Yeouido, Seoul, newly elected party leader candidate Lee Jun-seok and the Supreme Council members are posing at the party convention held to elect the new party leader. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

The shift to mobile voting is also interpreted as having influenced the reorganization of the traditional election structure centered on organizational power. Traditionally, candidates with strong party organization could mobilize their supporting party members to vote, which was advantageous. However, with the non-face-to-face principle applied throughout the election?from campaigning to voting?party members acted as individuals rather than organizational units. A People Power Party official explained, "Because it was 100% mobile, the meaning of organizational elections disappeared," adding, "If it weren't for mobile voting, former lawmaker Na Kyung-won, who lost by only a 7% margin, might have been elected."

In fact, candidates who chose a 'high-altitude battle' over a 'ground battle' also saw considerable success in this election. A representative example is party leader Lee Jun-seok. When asked about "the differentiation that Lee Jun-seok's People Power Party can have" on KBS1 radio's 'Joo Jin-woo's Live' after his election on the 11th, Lee replied, "Basically, during this leadership election process, I did not build a large campaign or distribute many appointment letters or business cards," adding, "Therefore, I believe I had the opportunity to appoint people without owing favors to anyone."

The reason why political newcomers with weaker party organization than veteran candidates performed well in this election is the same. Half of the Supreme Council members are first-term lawmakers Jo Su-jin and Bae Hyun-jin, and the youngest party district chairman, Kim Yong-tae, born in 1990 and chairman of the Gyeonggi Gwangmyeong district, was elected as the youth Supreme Council member.

Starting with these changes, there is an analysis that the political election culture will gradually continue to evolve. Park Sang-chul, dean of the Graduate School of Political Studies at Kyonggi University, said, "As mobile elections strengthen, individuality becomes more important than organization, broadening the scope of thinking," and viewed this as "a sign that party sentiment is getting closer to public sentiment." Regarding future prospects, he said, "If the keyword of the previous election was 'big data,' this election saw election campaigns conducted in the virtual world, even mentioning the concept of 'metaverse' (a compound of virtual and real worlds)," and predicted, "The influence of mobile elections in politics will become overwhelmingly strong."

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