[Report] "Disgusted with the Ruling Party, Yet Distrustful of the Opposition" Presidential Election 2 Weeks Away, What Is the Direction of Commercial District Public Sentiment?

Self-Employed and Small Business Owners Suffered Greatly During COVID-19 Pandemic
Strong Government and Ruling Party Backlash... Opposition Also Expresses "Doubts"
Ruling and Opposition Parties Approve Supplementary Budget of About 17 Trillion Won for Self-Employed Support
Experts Say "Self-Employed Are a Large but Highly Diverse Group"
"Both Parties Focus on Support, Making Differentiation Difficult"

On the morning of the 22nd, the underground shopping mall in Yeouido, Seoul, is bustling with customers. / Photo by Juhyung Lim skepped@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] "I will never vote for a Democratic Party president in the future. But honestly, I don't really trust candidate Yoon Seok-yeol either."

On the 22nd, about two weeks before the presidential election day, the 'public sentiment' of merchants met at the Yeongdeungpo underground shopping mall in Seoul showed that they had not yet made up their minds. Self-employed and small business owners unanimously said they had no intention whatsoever to vote for the Democratic Party presidential candidate when thinking about the government and ruling party's performance over the past two years. However, they also expressed that they saw no real alternatives from candidate Yoon Seok-yeol and the People Power Party.

◆"Won't vote for ruling party candidate" vs "Is there an alternative in the opposition?" Merchants' public sentiment is also confused

The underground shopping mall visited that morning was bustling with customers. Although the daily number of COVID-19 confirmed cases was approaching 100,000, consumers' enthusiasm did not seem to be dampened.

The shopping mall was much livelier compared to two years ago. There were hardly any empty stores or shops with 'For Rent' signs, and merchants were busy displaying goods on their stands. Inside the brightly lit stores, songs by famous singers played.

When asked about business conditions, Mr. A, a merchant in his 50s sitting in front of a clothing store, replied that while it could not be called a boom, the situation had improved significantly compared to the end of last year.

Mr. A said, "Sales probably won't return to what they used to be. Customers are still cautious," but added, "It's tough, but when has the common people's economy ever not been tough? It's just at a level where we can endure and hold on."

Storefront preparing for business / Photo by Juhyung Lim skepped@

However, he emphasized that the resentment of self-employed people toward the current government and ruling party remains quite high. Mr. A lamented, "Self-employed and small business owners cooperated well with quarantine measures, helping our country overcome the crisis. But the compensation for losses was negligible, and those who are about to go bankrupt because sales aren't coming back are being told to take on debt. Many merchants here have gone bankrupt and never returned."

Another self-employed person, Mr. B, also waved his hand, saying, "Considering the COVID-19 period, how could we possibly vote for the Democratic Party candidate?" However, when asked if he would support candidate Yoon, he avoided a direct answer, saying, "There are many controversies, and he is said to be poor at debates, so it's true that I have doubts about whether he can do well if he becomes president."

There were also skeptical voices about the approximately 17 trillion won supplementary budget bill jointly promoted by the ruling and opposition parties for self-employed and small business owners. Mr. C, a merchant in his 50s, expressed frustration, saying, "They ignored us when we desperately needed help, but now that the election season is approaching, they say they will throw money around. But isn't all that money coming from our taxes? What does it all mean?"

◆Where will the votes of 6.5 million self-employed go? Experts say "Large disparities and diverse political orientations"

According to Statistics Korea, as of 2019, the number of self-employed in South Korea was 6.57 million, accounting for about one-quarter of the total economically active population. In a 2020 OECD survey on the proportion of self-employed among total jobs, Korea ranked 6th out of 35 countries with 24.6%.

Self-employed people are the 'pillar' of the domestic common people's economy and a huge voter group, but it is pointed out that they had to endure great sacrifices during the severe COVID-19 pandemic over the past two years.

Last November, the appearance of shops in Yeongdeungpo. Many stores were closed at that time due to the implementation of strict quarantine measures such as social distancing. / Photo by Juhyung Lim skepped@

Especially as high-intensity quarantine policies prolonged due to the COVID-19 pandemic, their fatigue reached its peak. According to the National Statistical Portal, as of the first half of 2021, the real sales of food service and drinking establishments fell by 7.2% compared to the same period last year, marking the lowest level since statistics began in 2010.

While sales decreased, debt worsened. According to the Bank of Korea, loans to self-employed and individual business owners in the third quarter of last year (July to September) reached 887.5 trillion won, a 29.5% increase compared to 2019 before COVID-19. During this period, the number of self-employed borrowers increased from 1.914 million to 2.572 million, a rise of 658,000 (34.1%). This means many are borrowing money to survive because their income is not sufficient.

Given this situation, resistance from self-employed and small business owners has intensified. Some self-employed people held large-scale protests against government quarantine guidelines, and some even declared they would ignore business hour restrictions and operate 24 hours a day.

The 'COVID-19 Damage Self-Employed General Union,' formed by self-employed groups, held a candlelight cultural event near Hongdae Street in Seoul at around 9:30 p.m. on the 21st, openly criticizing the government's quarantine policies.

An additional supplementary budget of 16.9 trillion won is being passed at the plenary session held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 21st. / Photo by Yonhap News

Meanwhile, ahead of the presidential election, ruling and opposition parties, focusing all efforts on 'securing votes,' passed a revised supplementary budget bill worth about 16.9 trillion won at the National Assembly plenary session that day. The revised supplementary budget includes provisions to provide quarantine support funds of 3 million won per person to 3.2 million small business owners and self-employed people and to raise the compensation rate from 80% to 90%.

Experts analyzed that domestic self-employed people are a huge and diverse group with varying opinions, and since both ruling and opposition parties have pledged to expand support policies for the self-employed in the election campaign, it is difficult to differentiate themselves.

Political commentator Lee Jong-hoon explained, "Although the self-employed, numbering about 6 million, are a huge group, it is difficult to view them as a voter group with a specific political orientation. There are large disparities and diverse political tendencies because income and business scale vary greatly among self-employed people."

He added, "Since both ruling and opposition parties are presenting various pledges to attract self-employed voters, it will be difficult to differentiate through support policies."

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