In S. Korean Presidential Race, Ideology, Pledges May Not Matter

Choice will boil down to agreement or disagreement with martial law: Observers

- Wendy Teo

SEOUL - As the campaigning for South Korea's upcoming presidential election kicked off officially on May 12, political observers are predicting that the race will not be about the candidates, their policy pledges or even political ideology.

It will boil down to South Koreans voting on whether they agree or disagree with the short-lived martial law of Dec 3, 2024, declared by then President Yoon Suk Yeol. He was stripped of his presidential powers on April 4, triggering the June 3 snap election for a new leader.

Yoon is currently undergoing a criminal trial on insurrection charges, for the debacle that sparked the country's worst political upheaval in decades that saw a quick succession of acting presidents, with the latest one being Mr Lee Jun-ho, who is also the Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister.

"To frame it simply, this election will be about the voters' appraisal of the martial law fiasco," Yonsei University's Dr Bong Young-shik told The Straits Times.

"Ideological differences have been by and large diluted, at least temporarily," he added.

Referring to opinion polls conducted by various agencies since the martial law incident, Dr Bong said that the results have shown "the consistent dominant negative views" held by South Koreans over what had happened.

Among those with such views is Madam Seo Eun-sook, 68, a Seoulite who has been a conservative all her life. She is choosing to vote against the lines of ideology after being bitterly disappointed by the actions of Yoon, who is from the conservative ruling party, the People Power Party (PPP).

She told ST that she could not condone martial law, having experienced the country's military rule in the early 1980s.