Next Year's General Election 'Casting Vote' Youth? ... 'MZ Legislation' Floods In

Three Youth Support Bills Submitted to the Plenary Session
Youth Bill Proposals Continue
"Voter Structure Changed, Election Necessary and Sufficient Condition"

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] As the next year's National Assembly general election approaches, legislation supporting the youth is being introduced one after another. This is interpreted as targeting the 2030 generation, which has recently emerged as the 'casting vote' of the two major parties during election seasons.

According to the National Assembly Bill Information System on the 21st, three bills expanding support for youth were submitted to the plenary session scheduled for the 24th of this month. First, the "Youth Basic Act Amendment," proposed as an alternative by the chairman of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee, includes provisions to strengthen support for youth by establishing grounds for employment and financial support and for the state to subsidize expenses necessary for youth support projects by local governments.

Also, when central administrative agencies or provincial governors form committees, a certain proportion must be appointed as youth, and committees dealing with youth policies must fill at least 30% of appointed members with youth. A provision was also added to designate one week from Youth Day as Youth Week. The Political Affairs Committee stated, "Currently, youth are facing difficulties such as employment difficulties and housing instability due to changes in economic, social, and cultural circumstances, so systematic and comprehensive support for them is necessary."

Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the People Power Party, is delivering a negotiation group representative speech at the National Assembly plenary session hall in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 14th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

For those under 40 years old who move to rural areas, preferential support is provided under the amended 'Act on Revitalization and Support for Returning to Farming, Fishing, and Rural Areas,' which passed the National Assembly's Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock, Food, and Maritime Affairs Committee and will be handled at this plenary session. The amendment stated, "It is still difficult for young people without economic, material, or human resources to settle in rural areas, and the current law lacks sufficient grounds to attract young people to rural areas," and expected that "by giving preferential support to those under 40 settling in rural areas, it will revitalize rural areas that have been stagnating due to an aging population."

The government's proposed amendment to the "Act on the Protection and Settlement Support of North Korean Defectors" also passed the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee on the 16th of this month and was submitted to the plenary session. The amendment includes adding youth as a special consideration target for the state and local governments to support the settlement of young North Korean defectors, in line with the purpose of the Youth Basic Act.

Many bills supporting the youth are also being promoted at the standing committee stage. Recently, youth-related bills have been continuously proposed, such as the "Restriction of Special Taxation Act Amendment" (by Go Eop-jin of the Democratic Party), which expands income tax reduction benefits to small and medium-sized enterprises to enhance employment incentives for youth and other vulnerable groups, and the "Unemployed Youth Mandatory Employment System Expansion Act" (by Yoon Jun-byeong of the Democratic Party), which raises the mandatory employment ratio of unemployed youth in public institutions and local public enterprises to 7% or more.

In particular, on the 15th, Democratic Party lawmaker Jang Cheol-min announced plans to propose the "Youth Three Acts" (amendments to the Public Official Election Act, Basic Housing Act, and Maternal and Child Health Act), in which university students directly participated in the bill drafting process.

In past elections, legislation targeting the elderly was the trend. Both ruling and opposition parties used elderly-friendly policies with high voter turnout to capture the elderly vote. A representative example is the increase in the basic pension for the elderly through presidential elections. The Park Geun-hye administration introduced a basic pension system that pays up to 200,000 won per month to seniors aged 65 and over in the bottom 70% income bracket, and the Moon Jae-in administration raised it to 300,000 won. The Yoon Suk-yeol administration also announced a plan to gradually increase the basic pension payment to 400,000 won as a national agenda.

However, since the 21st general election, legislation supporting the youth has increased. This is interpreted as a result of the 2030 generation emerging as the 'casting vote' in last year's presidential and local elections. Um Kyung-young, director of the Era Spirit Research Institute, explained, "Ahead of this general election, the voter structure has changed, with those in their 60s and above and those in their 40s and 50s divided between the ruling and opposition parties, standing in a stalemate, and the 2030 generation holding the casting vote," adding, "For this general election and the next presidential election, winning elections will require, as a necessary and sufficient condition, winning over the casting vote to our side."

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