Discussion on 'Voting Eligibility at Age 18' Ahead of the Presidential Election... What Do You Think?

People Power Party Proposes Lowering Candidacy Age... "Opposed in 2017, Now Exploiting Voter Sentiment" Criticism
Lee Jun-seok: "Show a Miracle Beyond a 30s First-Time Party Leader," Yoon Seok-yeol: "Let's Become Korea's Obama, Macron"
Public Opinions Divided: "Just Exploiting Voter Sentiment" vs. "Expanding Youth Political Participation Opportunities"
Experts: "MZ Generation's Demand for Political Reform and Generational Change in Politicians Growing... A Natural Issue Raised"

On the afternoon of the 29th of last month, students from a middle school in downtown Seoul were leaving school. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] As the presidential election phase begins, the ruling and opposition parties have agreed on lowering the candidacy age limit to 18 years or older. However, some criticize this as a desperate measure to win the votes of the 20s and 30s generation, which has many undecided voters.

The lowering of the candidacy age has been a long-standing debate. Under the current election law, voting rights are granted at age 18, but there is an age restriction of 25 years to run for major public offices such as members of the National Assembly and local government heads. This discrepancy between voting rights and candidacy rights has been criticized for being out of touch with reality, and there are calls to expand youth suffrage to guarantee citizens' rights.

On the other hand, some citizens oppose the idea, arguing that 18-year-olds with little political experience are inappropriate candidates.

◆ Lee Jun-seok and Yoon Seok-youl discuss 'lowering candidacy age'... Sim Sang-jung has pledged since 2017

Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, stated in a congratulatory speech at the Youth Day ceremony on the 6th, "Ahead of the local elections, we will abolish the age limit of 25 years for candidacy in local and National Assembly elections to align it with voting rights."

He added, "The lives of young generations do not improve just because the political world gives them something like charity. The most important thing is a culture where they directly participate in politics to create and enforce policies that determine their fate," and urged, "Show miracles beyond the emergence of a 30-year-old first-time party leader. From next year's local elections, participate and move forward based on the power of youth."

Following this, the bill to lower the candidacy age gained momentum. Three days after Lee's remarks, on the 9th, the ruling and opposition parties agreed to form a special committee in the National Assembly to discuss lowering the candidacy age, and on the 10th, the People Power Party proposed an amendment to the Public Official Election Act to lower the candidacy age to 18.

Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, also supported the bill. On the 13th, he posted on his Facebook, "If the bill passes, opportunities for youth political participation will be dramatically expanded," and encouraged, "Why not become Korea's Obama or Macron? Open a new era and change politics. I will be the bridge to your era."

The Barack Obama mentioned by Yoon was elected U.S. president in November 2008 at age 47, and Emmanuel Macron was elected French president in May 2017 at age 39.

Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party (left), and Yoon Seok-yeol, presidential candidate.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Before this, the first to pledge lowering the candidacy age was Sim Sang-jung, the Justice Party's presidential candidate. Since the 19th presidential election, she has advocated lowering the candidacy age. At that time, candidates Moon Jae-in, Hong Joon-pyo, Ahn Cheol-soo, and Yoo Seung-min agreed on lowering the voting age, creating a consensus, but Sim went further by also calling for lowering the candidacy age.

In a press conference in February 2017, Sim said, "As proven in the candlelight protests, our youth have shown political insight beyond the older generation," and added, "The logic of restricting political participation due to age is very outdated."

On June 10, she appeared on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' and mentioned the 20s and 30s generation's support for Lee Jun-seok, saying, "These days, the presidential election age is being discussed, and among the candidates in the last (19th) presidential election, I was the only one who argued that the candidacy age should be lowered. I basically think voting rights and candidacy rights should go together."

◆ Criticism as a 'vote-grabbing tactic for 20s and 30s'... Experts say it is desirable for young generations to enter politics and solve youth issues independently

Some view the People Power Party's push to lower the candidacy age as a cynical attempt to win young voters ahead of the presidential election. It is seen as a political calculation to emphasize a reformist image by preempting political reform issues among the 20s and 30s generation.

In the past, during the 2017 presidential election when the party was the Liberty Korea Party, it opposed lowering the voting age and youth political participation, fearing the "politicization of schools." As the number of undecided voters in their 20s and 30s increases and their votes are expected to decide the presidential election, critics argue that the party is belatedly trying to increase votes by lowering the candidacy age.

If the bill becomes reality, some citizens worry about the possibility of high school student members of the National Assembly. One netizen commented, "I have experienced it myself, and even in my early 20s, I don't deeply understand politics," adding, "Lowering the voting age was already a stretch, so I don't understand what this means." Another netizen said, "Soon they will want kindergarteners to become members of the National Assembly," criticizing it as a "political show."

Experts diagnose that the MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z) demands political reform and generational change among politicians.

Political commentator Lee Jong-hoon said, "MZ generations, regardless of progressive or conservative, realized that it is meaningless to entrust the older generation to solve our problems," and analyzed, "The root cause is the incompetence of the older generation, especially politicians who have shown limitations in ability. The speed of social change is too fast, and the older generation lacks the agility and quickness to respond."

He continued, "When Lee Jun-seok was elected party leader, there was controversy saying 'He cannot run for president,' and 'Even if Macron wanted to run in our country, he can't,'" and suggested, "It would be desirable if young generations enter politics themselves and solve problems independently."

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