hankyoreh

The sentiments of voters that emerged from the voting booths Wednesday were as complicated as the eight multicolored voting sheets upon which they cast their votes. This is because the election was both a vote on the people to take charge of regional economies and children’s education, as well as a way of revealing positive and negative sentiments toward the current administration. As controversy over exploitation of the North Korea issue surfaced as a result of the Cheonan, and the elections of superintendents of education and school board members further complicated matters, voters appeared to have felt an added sense of burden.

The most frequently cited issue from those who cast their votes was undoubtedly the Cheonan incident and the government’s response.

Citizens who place importance on national security said that the Cheonan incident led them to lend stronger support the Lee Myung-bak administration and ruling Grand National Party (GNP).

“I have been more worried about the North Korea issue since the Cheonan incident, and I think my expectations of the current administration have increased,” said Hong Wan-ja, 52, resident of Yeongdeungpo.

“The opposition parties take North Korea’s side to an incomprehensible degree on the Cheonan issue,” said Jeong Du-chan, 87, resident of Mapo. “How can you vote for people who have such troubling ideas?”

In contrast, many voters expressed great disappointment with the ruling government in the wake of the Cheonan incident.

“A number of things the government announced about the Cheonan incident early on turned out to be lies,” said Kim Seung-jun, 33, resident of Seongnam. “I think the government is very much in the wrong in using this to create tension in inter-Korean relations and drive things toward a situation of war.”

“People in our age group do not trust most of the government’s statements regarding the Cheonan issue,” said Park Sang-hyeon, 34, resident of Yeongdeungpo. “We talked a lot about expressing these feelings through our votes, even if it is just us.”

While some expressed the view that the Cheonan incident resulted in the local elections losing much of their previous disposition as a sort of interim evaluation, citizen feelings were still divided along the traditional lines of “steadying the administration” and “curbing the administration.”

“It has not been long since the Grand National Party assumed power, so we have to support them,” said Yun Hun-bok, 67, resident of Seongnam.

“I have rarely voted in the past, but this time I thought I absolutely had to,” said a 27-year-old Mapo resident identified by the surname Yoon in contrast. “I really felt the need to curb the administration, which is having its run of things and disregarding democracy, doing things like preventing assembly.”

“I shut the Grand National Party out of this vote altogether,” said a 28-year-old Jongno resident identified by the surname Lee. “Not only can I not trust the current administration, but I was also baffled to see them opposing free school meals.”

Most of the people who said they did not vote in the local elections cited a lack of candidates to support.

“There were not any candidates I supported, and I did not feel any real need to vote,” said a 29-year-old businessman surnamed Jeong. “I did think that if I had to vote, I would do it for the New Progressive Party or the Democratic Labor Party, but due to the limitations of representative democracy, neither of those parties seems to have any influence.”

“Frankly speaking, I really do not know who’s who,” said a 29-year-old academy instructor surnamed Kwon. “I hate to see them slandering their opponents rather than talking about policies, whether it is the ruling party or the opposition, so I decided not to vote.”

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