hankyoreh

By Lee You Ju-hyun, staff reporter

South Korea‘s sixth municipal elections are taking place on June 4, which happens to mark exactly 50 days since the sinking of the Sewol ferry claimed over 300 lives in April. It’s the first the nationwide election to take place since that tragedy plunged the country into shock and grief. A total of 3,952 seats are to be filled, including 17 municipal government heads, 226 smaller government heads, 789 metropolitan council members, 2,898 smaller government council members, 17 education superintendents, and five school board members for Jeju Island.

The Sewol sinking has been the main theme running through the election from start to finish. Many South Koreans were disappointed by the fumbling of the government - which failed to rescue any of the passengers trapped on the boat, and which continued its pattern of panic and confusion in the weeks after the vessel went down - and by the Blue House washing its hands of any responsibility. The opposition asked voters to use their ballots to hold the ruling party accountable. The ruling Saenuri Party (NFP) initially criticized the opposition for using the tragedy for political purposes, but once it found itself on the defensive, it began calling on voters to “defend the country and the President.” After President Park Geun-hye wept publicly in an address to the nation on May 19, the ruling party appealed to the public to “wipe away her tears” and “defend” her. The opposition countered that it was the public’s tears that should be answered, and the people who should be defended.

The campaign proceeded to take shape into one of public anger on one side and defense of President Park and the ruling party on the other. The two sides were putting out the same messages on June 3, the last day of campaigning. Lee Wan-koo, the Saenuri Party floor leader, put out a public appeal asking voters to “use your votes to protect South Korea.” Ahn Cheol-soo, co-leader of the opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD), went out onto Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul to call on the public to “use the election to hold the state authorities sternly accountable for their ineptitude.”

On paper, the municipal elections are about choosing local government staff. In reality, they are the first mid-term elections of the administration, a time when the public evaluates the fifteen months since Park took office. Their results could have an effect on Park’s choice for a new Prime Minister, the debate over Kim Ki-choon’s role as Chief of Staff, and the chaotic situation at the state-run KBS network. Political experts are already calling them the first political test of how the country has changed since the Sewol sinking.

“Those 300 people who died on the Sewol left South Korean society with a huge assignment,” said Kim Ho-ki, a professor of sociology at Yonsei University. “We now face the question of whether to remain a society that emphasizes efficiency and results, or to move forward and become a society that respects life, safety, and humanity.”

Kim called the election “an opportunity to make this decision with our votes.”

Seo Bok-kyung, a research professor at Sogang University, said the public is more interested in having politicians conduct a rigorous investigation of the sinking than in passing judgment on anybody.

“The only way politicians are going to do what the people want is if the people show what they want with their votes,” Seo said.

Voting takes place between 6 am and 6 pm on June 4, with 13,664 booths set up around the country. Results are expected to be announced around 11 pm. In contrast with early voting, voters will only be able to vote at their local precinct.

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