Latest news with #anti-Yoon
NDTV
6 days ago
- General
- NDTV
Young South Korean Women Help Propel Liberal Candidate Lee To Victory
Seoul: Young women in South Korea voted in droves to help new liberal President Lee Jae-myung win Tuesday's election, reflecting the entrenched gender divide over politics in the country where more young men backed conservative candidates. Around 58 per cent of women voters in their 20s and 57 per cent in their 30s voted for Lee of the Democratic Party, a joint exit poll by three broadcasters showed, mirroring the 2022 presidential election, while a majority of their male peers picked Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party and Lee Jun-seok, another conservative candidate. Young women led the charge against former President Yoon Suk Yeol who was ousted in April by the Supreme Court after being impeached over his short-lived imposition of martial law, triggering the snap election. They outnumbered their male peers in massive anti-Yoon protests as they waved K-pop light sticks while braving near sub-zero temperatures in the winter. "I voted for Lee Jae-myung in part because I was a little nervous about candidate Kim Moon-soo climbing in polls towards the end of the election," said Moon Song-hee, a 32-year-old female voter in Seoul. Mr Kim and his party had failed to distance themselves from Mr Yoon, driving away people like her who were protesting outside parliament soon after the December 3 martial law declaration, she said. The women-led "revolution" is a starting point for making progress on gender equality that was reversed under Yoon, the Korea Women's Association United said in a statement. "This is not a simple regime change, but a historical achievement made by the fierce struggle of the people to restore the gender-equal democracy destroyed by the Yoon Suk Yeol regime," the group said in a statement. The issue of gender inequality has become a lightning rod in the country. South Korea has the worst gender pay gap in the OECD, with women earning about two-thirds of the income of men. Efforts to redress such inequalities have triggered a backlash among young men, amid perceptions of reverse discrimination, including disgruntlement at the compulsory military service that is not required for women, some experts say. Former leader Mr Yoon tapped into anti-feminist sentiment by vowing to abolish the gender equality ministry and courted young male voters in the last election in 2022, losing a majority of young women's votes to Lee. The ministry has outlived Yoon, though without a minister. "I was baffled by the promise to abolish the gender equality ministry. To be honest, I didn't really think that women were on their minds for the past three years," she said after voting for Mr Lee for the second time. Mr Lee has vowed to expand the role of the gender equality ministry and strengthen punishment for violence against women. "Young people were driven to extreme competition to the point of fighting between men and women," Mr Lee said as he was sworn in as president on Wednesday, blaming a lack of opportunities and stiff competition for driving a wedge between the genders. However, Mr Lee has not been a vocal supporter of anti-discrimination legislation and when the Democratic Party first revealed his policies, a lack of gender issues drew criticism. The Korea Women's Political Network, an activist group, contended that Mr Lee was ignoring gender equality out of fear it would hurt him at the polls, and after his victory, urged him to adopt some of the commitments made by the minor Democratic Labor Party's candidate Kwon Young-kook. Kwon Seo-hyun, an 18-year-old freshman at Sookmyung Women's University said she took part in anti-Yoon protests following his martial law, but voted for candidate Kwon, who has called himself a feminist. He was the only candidate who vowed to enact anti-discrimination laws. "One thing I am a bit frustrated about with mainstream candidates whether Lee Jae-myung or other conservative candidates is they lack policy on women or minority groups," she said. Gender equality was not among the key policy issues put forward during this election, a stark contrast from the 2022 vote. There were also no female candidates running in a presidential election for the first time in 18 years.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Young South Korean women help propel liberal candidate Lee to victory
(Corrects to remove hyphen from Yoon Suk Yeol's name in paragraph 3) By Hyunsu Yim and Ju-min Park SEOUL (Reuters) -Young women in South Korea voted in droves to help new liberal President Lee Jae-myung win Tuesday's election, reflecting the entrenched gender divide over politics in the country where more young men backed conservative candidates. Around 58% of women voters in their 20s and 57% in their 30s voted for Lee of the Democratic Party, a joint exit poll by three broadcasters showed, mirroring the 2022 presidential election, while a majority of their male peers picked Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party and Lee Jun-seok, another conservative candidate. Young women led the charge against former President Yoon Suk Yeol who was ousted in April by the Supreme Court after being impeached over his short-lived imposition of martial law, triggering the snap election. They outnumbered their male peers in massive anti-Yoon protests as they waved K-pop light sticks while braving near sub-zero temperatures in the winter. "I voted for Lee Jae-myung in part because I was a little nervous about candidate Kim Moon-soo climbing in polls towards the end of the election," said Moon Song-hee, a 32-year-old female voter in Seoul. Kim and his party had failed to distance themselves from Yoon, driving away people like her who were protesting outside parliament soon after the December 3 martial law declaration, she said. The women-led "revolution" is a starting point for making progress on gender equality that was reversed under Yoon, the Korea Women's Association United said in a statement. "This is not a simple regime change, but a historical achievement made by the fierce struggle of the people to restore the gender-equal democracy destroyed by the Yoon Suk Yeol regime," the group said in a statement. The issue of gender inequality has become a lightning rod in the country. South Korea has the worst gender pay gap in the OECD, with women earning about two-thirds of the income of men. Efforts to redress such inequalities have triggered a backlash among young men, amid perceptions of reverse discrimination, including disgruntlement at the compulsory military service that is not required for women, some experts say. Former leader Yoon tapped into anti-feminist sentiment by vowing to abolish the gender equality ministry and courted young male voters in the last election in 2022, losing a majority of young women's votes to Lee. The ministry has outlived Yoon, though without a minister. "I was baffled by the promise to abolish the gender equality ministry. To be honest, I didn't really think that women were on their minds for the past three years," she said after voting for Lee for the second time. Lee has vowed to expand the role of the gender equality ministry and strengthen punishment for violence against women. "Young people were driven to extreme competition to the point of fighting between men and women," Lee said as he was sworn in as president on Wednesday, blaming a lack of opportunities and stiff competition for driving a wedge between the genders. However, Lee has not been a vocal supporter of anti-discrimination legislation and when the Democratic Party first revealed his policies, a lack of gender issues drew criticism. The Korea Women's Political Network, an activist group, contended that Lee was ignoring gender equality out of fear it would hurt him at the polls, and after his victory, urged him to adopt some of Kwon's commitments. Kwon Seo-hyun, an 18-year-old freshman at Sookmyung Women's University said she took part in anti-Yoon protests following his martial law, but voted for Kwon Young-kook, the minor Democratic Labor Party's candidate. Kwon has called himself a feminist and was the only candidate who vowed to enact anti-discrimination laws. "One thing I am a bit frustrated about with mainstream candidates whether Lee Jae-myung or other conservative candidates is they lack policy on women or minority groups," she said. Gender equality was not among the key policy issues put forward during this election, a stark contrast from the 2022 vote. There were also no female candidates running in a presidential election for the first time in 18 years.
Straits Times
7 days ago
- General
- Straits Times
Young South Korean women help propel liberal candidate Lee to victory
FILE PHOTO: Supporters of Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate for South Korea's Democratic Party, cheer during an election campaign rally at a park in Seoul, South Korea, May 28, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji FILE PHOTO: Supporters of Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate for South Korea's Democratic Party, cheer during an election campaign rally at a park in Seoul, South Korea, May 28, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Supporters of Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of South Korea's Democratic Party, gather on the day of the presidential election, outside of National Assembly, in Seoul, South Korea, June 3, 2025. REUTERS/Go Nakamura/File Photo FILE PHOTO: Supporters of Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of South Korea's Democratic Party, cheer during an election campaign rally in Seoul, South Korea, June 2, 2025. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo SEOUL - Young women in South Korea voted in droves to help new liberal President Lee Jae-myung win Tuesday's election, reflecting the entrenched gender divide over politics in the country where more young men backed conservative candidates. Around 58% of women voters in their 20s and 57% in their 30s voted for Lee of the Democratic Party, a joint exit poll by three broadcasters showed, mirroring the 2022 presidential election, while a majority of their male peers picked Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party and Lee Jun-seok, another conservative candidate. Young women led the charge against former President Yoon Suk-yeol who was ousted in April by the Supreme Court after being impeached over his short-lived imposition of martial law, triggering the snap election. They outnumbered their male peers in massive anti-Yoon protests as they waved K-pop light sticks while braving near sub-zero temperatures in the winter. "I voted for Lee Jae-myung in part because I was a little nervous about candidate Kim Moon-soo climbing in polls towards the end of the election," said Moon Song-hee, a 32-year-old female voter in Seoul. Kim and his party had failed to distance themselves from Yoon, driving away people like her who were protesting outside parliament soon after the December 3 martial law declaration, she said. The women-led "revolution" is a starting point for making progress on gender equality that was reversed under Yoon, the Korea Women's Association United said in a statement. "This is not a simple regime change, but a historical achievement made by the fierce struggle of the people to restore the gender-equal democracy destroyed by the Yoon Suk Yeol regime," the group said in a statement. The issue of gender inequality has become a lightning rod in the country. South Korea has the worst gender pay gap in the OECD, with women earning about two-thirds of the income of men. Efforts to redress such inequalities have triggered a backlash among young men, amid perceptions of reverse discrimination, including disgruntlement at the compulsory military service that is not required for women, some experts say. Former leader Yoon tapped into anti-feminist sentiment by vowing to abolish the gender equality ministry and courted young male voters in the last election in 2022, losing a majority of young women's votes to Lee. The ministry has outlived Yoon, though without a minister. "I was baffled by the promise to abolish the gender equality ministry. To be honest, I didn't really think that women were on their minds for the past three years," she said after voting for Lee for the second time. Lee has vowed to expand the role of the gender equality ministry and strengthen punishment for violence against women. "Young people were driven to extreme competition to the point of fighting between men and women," Lee said as he was sworn in as president on Wednesday, blaming a lack of opportunities and stiff competition for driving a wedge between the genders. However, Lee has not been a vocal supporter of anti-discrimination legislation and when the Democratic Party first revealed his policies, a lack of gender issues drew criticism. The Korea Women's Political Network, an activist group, contended that Lee was ignoring gender equality out of fear it would hurt him at the polls, and after his victory, urged him to adopt some of Kwon's commitments. Kwon Seo-hyun, an 18-year-old freshman at Sookmyung Women's University said she took part in anti-Yoon protests following his martial law, but voted for Kwon Young-kook, the minor Democratic Labor Party's candidate. Kwon has called himself a feminist and was the only candidate who vowed to enact anti-discrimination laws. "One thing I am a bit frustrated about with mainstream candidates whether Lee Jae-myung or other conservative candidates is they lack policy on women or minority groups," she said. Gender equality was not among the key policy issues put forward during this election, a stark contrast from the 2022 vote. There were also no female candidates running in a presidential election for the first time in 18 years. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Nikkei Asia
30-05-2025
- Politics
- Nikkei Asia
What happened to South Korea's progressive movement?
Haeryun Kang is a journalist and filmmaker in Seoul. She is currently directing the feature documentary "Naro's Search for Space." When former President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law on Dec. 3, he probably had no idea how much mess he would create in the ensuing months. Martial law ended after six hours, rejected by the National Assembly. Millions protested on the streets, dividing the country into pro- and anti-Yoon camps, eventually leading to his impeachment in early April. Now, as South Korea races toward a sudden presidential election on June 3, the shadow of Yoon's self-inflicted constitutional crisis trails behind the candidates.
Korea Herald
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Who's ahead: Kim Moon-soo's support rises after confirmed as PPP candidate
Liberal Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung garnered 50.2 percent support in recent poll results — a slight 1.9 percentage point drop from the previous week, when the rival People Power Party wrestled to unify around a single nominee. Realmeter, a polling agency, released the outcomes Monday after conducting a phone survey of 1,509 eligible voters aged 18 and over nationwide from May 14 to May 16. Conservative People Power Party candidate Kim Moon-soo recorded 35.6 percent support, while minor conservative New Reform Party candidate Lee Jun-seok garnered 8.7 percent — up by 4.5 and 2.4 percentage points, respectively, from the previous poll conducted May 7 to 9. Realmeter analyzed that Kim's support rose after he was officially confirmed as the People Power Party's presidential candidate on May 10, having overcome interparty strife over the candidate merger with former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo. 'The commencement of the official campaign appears to have led to a rallying effect among conservative voters, boosting his (Kim's) approval ratings,' the polling agency said. In contrast, Lee Jae-myung has 'been consolidating anti-Yoon conservative voters and attracting moderates by stepping up efforts to broaden his appeal,' despite a slight dip in support, according to Realmeter. The polling agency further explained that Lee Jae-myung's support increased in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province following last week's campaign stops in the Yeongnam region, a conservative stronghold in the country's southeast. Kim led the two areas with 44.9 percent, followed closely by Lee Jae-myung at 43.5 percent and Lee Jun-seok at 9.0 percent, leaving only a small gap between the two frontrunners. In South Gyeongsang Province and the metropolitan cities of Busan and Ulsan — also parts of the Yeongnam region — Lee Jae-myung garnered 49.1 percent, Kim 39.4 percent and Lee Jun-seok 7.7 percent. In hypothetical one-on-one matchups, Lee Jae-myung polled at 54.3 percent against Kim's 40.4 percent — a 13.9 percentage point lead — and at 51.4 percent against Lee Jun-seok's 30.0 percent, both leading beyond the margin of error. Realmeter attributed Lee Jae-myung's front-runner status to 'strong voter cohesion among Democratic Party supporters and progressives, along with majority support from within the moderate voter bloc.'
