[D-6 Months to the Presidential Election] Four Leading Candidates with Many Negative Search Terms... Still Good, As Long As Recognition Is High

Reading the D-6 Months to the Presidential Election
<1> Key Words Related to Leading Presidential Candidates Analyzed by Big Data

Top Keywords by Candidate
Free·Support·Suspicion·Suspicion...

Lee Governor Mentioned 3.34 Million Times
310% Increase Compared to Last Year
Yoon 164% Increase 1.2 Million Times

Editor's NoteThe election day to choose the 20th President of the Republic of Korea is just six months away. Where is the public sentiment aligned? Rather than focusing on minor exchanges between candidates, examining major variables that could sway the overall landscape can be an effective way to gauge Korea's future. Asia Economy has conducted an in-depth analysis of online public opinion trends based on these key points. Additionally, the policy directions pursued by each candidate and the profiles of their campaign teams have been comprehensively organized. Through a three-part series, we aim to read the current situation and anticipate what lies ahead in six months.

[Asia Economy Reporters Jeon Jin-young and Park Jun-yi] Asia Economy, in collaboration with Vibe Company (formerly Daumsoft) and its big data analysis platform SomeTrend, conducted a big data analysis over three months from June 5 to this month’s 5th. The analysis targeted the ruling party’s leading candidates, Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung and former Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon, as well as opposition candidates former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl and People Power Party lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo. The data sources included news, blogs, Twitter, Instagram, and internet communities. Common search keywords related to all candidates such as Democratic Party, People Power Party, presidential election, candidate, and president were excluded.

Generally Negative Words Predominate for the Four Major Candidates from Both Parties

For Governor Lee, the proportion of negative words among related search terms was 72%. While negative keywords attract public attention online, they also carry a high risk of adverse effects. The top search keyword associated with him was "free" (74,551 times), which is analyzed to relate to controversies over receiving free legal defense from some lawyers during a past election law violation lawsuit. Negative words such as "drunk driving," "swearing," and "adultery" were also included within the top 10. The Lee Jae-myung campaign has taken a firm stance against negativity while maintaining a conciliatory attitude toward other candidates. Park Chan-dae, the campaign’s chief spokesperson, said in a phone interview, "We are now moving beyond being just a Democratic Party primary candidate to being seen as a leading figure in the Democratic Party. Therefore, we intend to maintain a conciliatory stance toward other candidates within the same party."

Former leader Lee Nak-yeon received a relatively neutral evaluation with a positive keyword ratio of 51%. His top keyword was "support" (38,422 times). However, words such as "false information" and "free," which appeared in disputes with Governor Lee, also ranked high. The Lee Nak-yeon campaign plans to refrain from confrontations with Governor Lee going forward and intends to emphasize a dignified image as a strategic response.

Leading opposition candidates also showed a high proportion of negative keywords. Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl’s negative word ratio reached 78%. This may have been influenced by recent allegations of "prosecution request" and family-related controversies. His top keyword was "allegation" (42,421 times). Keywords such as "crime," "criticism," "charges," and "controversy" also appeared within the top 10. A representative from Yoon’s campaign stated, "At first, since he was the frontrunner, there was caution to avoid appearing arrogant, but now the negativity has become a relentless barrage, so we have decided to be transparent and straightforward. If there are parts that need direct explanation, we intend to address them openly."

For lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo, the proportion of negative related search terms was 69%. Similarly, the top keyword was "allegation" (3,882 times), which is analyzed to relate to his actions of raising allegations against other candidates rather than himself. Hong frequently mentions other figures regarding presidential and current issues. Recently, he has been actively responding to the prosecution request allegations surrounding former Prosecutor General Yoon. Other notable keywords include "reckless remarks" and "traitor." Hong recently attracted attention by criticizing a fellow party competitor, saying, "Even a Jindo dog does not betray its owner."

Whether Negative or Positive, More Searches Mean Higher Interest

As the presidential election phase intensifies, the volume of online mentions related to each candidate has significantly increased. This is an indicator of how much a candidate is mentioned on social networking services (SNS), reflecting their online recognition. In this analysis, Governor Lee recorded 3,447,131 mentions, nearly tripling (310.47%) compared to the previous year, ranking first. Former leader Lee Nak-yeon ranked second with 1,227,735 mentions, a 295.58% increase. Former Prosecutor General Yoon had 1,206,374 mentions, up 164.75%, and lawmaker Hong had 1,060,291 mentions, up 224.91%. Looking at the leading candidates from both parties, Governor Lee’s Twitter mentions (3,398,061) increased the most among candidates, while former Prosecutor General Yoon dominated community mentions (58,549).

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