adplus-dvertising
Connect with us

Politics

Continuity and change in South Korean politics – East Asia Forum

Published

 on


Author: Jong Eun Lee, American University

On 9 March 2022, South Korea held a closely contested presidential election after months of volatile, acrimonious campaigns. Conservative People Power Party (PPP) candidate Yoon Suk-yeol was announced the winner with 48.56 per cent of the vote. Ruling Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung was just 0.73 per cent behind, the closest margin ever in South Korean history.

South Korea's president-elect takes selfies with South Korean soldiers during his visit to US Army Garrison Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, 7 April 2022. (U.S. Forces Korea/Yonhap via Reuters Connect)

In December 2016, former president Park Geun-hye was impeached after the nationwide protests against her political scandals. In the subsequent presidential election, the ruling party suffered a defeat, politically distanced itself from Park and renamed itself the PPP. The newly elected president from the opposition Democratic Party, Moon Jae-in, pledged to end political corruption.

The past five years were tumultuous for South Korean politics. Seoul witnessed summits between the heads of states of two Koreas and the United States. The Democratic Party achieved landslide victories in local and legislative elections. The government was initially praised for its management of COVID-19, dubbed ‘K-Quarantine’, but later faced domestic criticism for the increasing socioeconomic costs of its quarantine measures.

These experiences contributed to the competitive, dynamic presidential election. While supporters of the ruling party viewed the election as an opportunity to continue the ‘candlelight revolution’, the opposition sought to hold accountable the ‘populist, hypocritical’ government and restore ‘fairness and common sense’ in politics. President-elect Yoon is a former prosecutor general who investigated corruption allegations against the Moon administration. Lee is former governor of Gyeonggi province with a reputation as an economic populist. Together, they embodied the contrasting political aspirations of a divided South Korean electorate.

While voter turnout was roughly the same as in 2017 — about 77 per cent — all major candidates faced high disapproval ratings throughout the campaign. Despite concerns that the high unfavorability ratings of two major candidates could depress the turnout, South Korean voters continue to be engaged in political participation.

Due to the legacy of the past military dictatorships, politics have traditionally been divided along regions — conservative parties dominant in the southeast Kyongsang province, while the more progressive parties dominant in the southwest Joella province. While the two major parties won in their respective regional stronghold, Yoon’s frequent campaign visits to Jeolla province and his pledge to honour the region’s contribution to past democratisation have achieved small inroads into the democratic stronghold. Lee also increased democratic vote share in his hometown province of Kyongsang, creating cracks in the regional political alignment.

Nationwide, older South Koreans in their 60s and above tended to vote for Yoon, while middle-aged voters in their 40s and 50s tended to vote for Lee Jae-myung. Young voters in their 20s and 30s acted as a swing electorate. Many young, first-time voters view the ruling Democratic Party as the new establishment tarnished by corruption and were more receptive to some of the PPP’s policy proposals. This was particularly the case for men under 30 — nearly three in five voted for Yoon.

Young male voters have also espoused more hardline views toward North Korea and China and perceived the Moon administration’s foreign policy as overly conciliatory. They have also criticised the ruling Democratic Party for a ‘lack of fairness’ in employment, housing and gender-related policies. Young female voters, on the other hand, have maintained more liberal views toward foreign and social policies and, despite some aversion toward personal allegations surrounding Lee, ultimately voted for him.

But even among female voters in their 20s, Yoon achieved a higher percentage (33.8 per cent) than previous conservative candidates, including Park, the first woman elected president. Such results pose a warning for the Democratic Party that its traditional advantage among young voters has significantly weakened.

South Korea remains a largely two-party political system closely divided between the PPP and the Democratic Party. Minor candidates such as the Justice Party’s Sim Sang-jung and the People Party’s Ahn Cheol-soo barely registered. In fact, Ahn gave up days before the election and endorsed Yoon. While the PPP won the presidency, the Democratic Party holds a large majority in the National Assembly thanks to its victory in the previous legislative election.

South Korea will face a divided government where the two major parties struggle to achieve bipartisan cooperation. While resuming many conservative economic and security policies, the incoming Yoon administration, which take office on 10 May, could prove successful in overcoming political divides by distinguishing itself from past conservative governments administrations. To expand support in traditionally Democratic areas and demographics, Yoon may embrace a ‘new conservative’ agenda that includes policies toward balanced regional development and ‘fair opportunities’ for the youth in employment and housing.

At the same time, Yoon could struggle to bridge the cultural differences between the PPP’s older, more traditional base and the new younger supporters. As South Korea’s two major political parties vie for support among young swing voters, both will face challenges in addressing different perceptions of ‘fairness’ between younger male and female voters to avoid alienating one group at the expense of the other.

Jong Eun Lee is a PhD Candidate and Adjunct Instructor at the School of International Service, American University.

Adblock test (Why?)

728x90x4

Source link

Politics

Trump is consistently inconsistent on abortion and reproductive rights

Published

 on

 

CHICAGO (AP) — Donald Trump has had a tough time finding a consistent message to questions about abortion and reproductive rights.

The former president has constantly shifted his stances or offered vague, contradictory and at times nonsensical answers to questions on an issue that has become a major vulnerability for Republicans in this year’s election. Trump has been trying to win over voters, especially women, skeptical about his views, especially after he nominated three Supreme Court justices who helped overturn the nationwide right to abortion two years ago.

The latest example came this week when the Republican presidential nominee said some abortion laws are “too tough” and would be “redone.”

“It’s going to be redone,” he said during a Fox News town hall that aired Wednesday. “They’re going to, you’re going to, you end up with a vote of the people. They’re too tough, too tough. And those are going to be redone because already there’s a movement in those states.”

Trump did not specify if he meant he would take some kind of action if he wins in November, and he did not say which states or laws he was talking about. He did not elaborate on what he meant by “redone.”

He also seemed to be contradicting his own stand when referencing the strict abortion bans passed in Republican-controlled states since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Trump recently said he would vote against a constitutional amendment on the Florida ballot that is aimed at overturning the state’s six-week abortion ban. That decision came after he had criticized the law as too harsh.

Trump has shifted between boasting about nominating the justices who helped strike down federal protections for abortion and trying to appear more neutral. It’s been an attempt to thread the divide between his base of anti-abortion supporters and the majority of Americans who support abortion rights.

About 6 in 10 Americans think their state should generally allow a person to obtain a legal abortion if they don’t want to be pregnant for any reason, according to a July poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Voters in seven states, including some conservative ones, have either protected abortion rights or defeated attempts to restrict them in statewide votes over the past two years.

Trump also has been repeating the narrative that he returned the question of abortion rights to states, even though voters do not have a direct say on that or any other issue in about half the states. This is particularly true for those living in the South, where Republican-controlled legislatures, many of which have been gerrymandered to give the GOP disproportionate power, have enacted some of the strictest abortion bans since Roe v. Wade was overturned.

Currently, 13 states have banned abortion at all stages of pregnancy, while four more ban it after six weeks — before many women know they’re pregnant.

Meanwhile, anti-abortion groups and their Republican allies in state governments are using an array of strategies to counter proposed ballot initiatives in at least eight states this year.

Here’s a breakdown of Trump’s fluctuating stances on reproductive rights.

Flip-flopping on Florida

On Tuesday, Trump claimed some abortion laws are “too tough” and would be “redone.”

But in August, Trump said he would vote against a state ballot measure that is attempting to repeal the six-week abortion ban passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature and signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

That came a day after he seemed to indicate he would vote in favor of the measure. Trump previously called Florida’s six-week ban a “terrible mistake” and too extreme. In an April Time magazine interview, Trump repeated that he “thought six weeks is too severe.”

Trump on vetoing a national ban

Trump’s latest flip-flopping has involved his views on a national abortion ban.

During the Oct. 1 vice presidential debate, Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social that he would veto a national abortion ban: “Everyone knows I would not support a federal abortion ban, under any circumstances, and would, in fact, veto it.”

This came just weeks after Trump repeatedly declined to say during the presidential debate with Democrat Kamala Harris whether he would veto a national abortion ban if he were elected.

Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, said in an interview with NBC News before the presidential debate that Trump would veto a ban. In response to debate moderators prompting him about Vance’s statement, Trump said: “I didn’t discuss it with JD, in all fairness. And I don’t mind if he has a certain view, but I don’t think he was speaking for me.”

‘Pro-choice’ to 15-week ban

Trump’s shifting abortion policy stances began when the former reality TV star and developer started flirting with running for office.

He once called himself “very pro-choice.” But before becoming president, Trump said he “would indeed support a ban,” according to his book “The America We Deserve,” which was published in 2000.

In his first year as president, he said he was “pro-life with exceptions” but also said “there has to be some form of punishment” for women seeking abortions — a position he quickly reversed.

At the 2018 annual March for Life, Trump voiced support for a federal ban on abortion on or after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

More recently, Trump suggested in March that he might support a national ban on abortions around 15 weeks before announcing that he instead would leave the matter to the states.

Views on abortion pills, prosecuting women

In the Time interview, Trump said it should be left up to the states to decide whether to prosecute women for abortions or to monitor women’s pregnancies.

“The states are going to make that decision,” Trump said. “The states are going to have to be comfortable or uncomfortable, not me.”

Democrats have seized on the comments he made in 2016, saying “there has to be some form of punishment” for women who have abortions.

Trump also declined to comment on access to the abortion pill mifepristone, claiming that he has “pretty strong views” on the matter. He said he would make a statement on the issue, but it never came.

Trump responded similarly when asked about his views on the Comstock Act, a 19th century law that has been revived by anti-abortion groups seeking to block the mailing of mifepristone.

IVF and contraception

In May, Trump said during an interview with a Pittsburgh television station that he was open to supporting regulations on contraception and that his campaign would release a policy on the issue “very shortly.” He later said his comments were misinterpreted.

In the KDKA interview, Trump was asked, “Do you support any restrictions on a person’s right to contraception?”

“We’re looking at that and I’m going to have a policy on that very shortly,” Trump responded.

Trump has not since released a policy statement on contraception.

Trump also has offered contradictory statements on in vitro fertilization.

During the Fox News town hall, which was taped Tuesday, Trump declared that he is “the father of IVF,” despite acknowledging during his answer that he needed an explanation of IVF in February after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law.

Trump said he instructed Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., to “explain IVF very quickly” to him in the aftermath of the ruling.

As concerns over access to fertility treatments rose, Trump pledged to promote IVF by requiring health insurance companies or the federal government to pay for it. Such a move would be at odds with the actions of much of his own party.

Even as the Republican Party has tried to create a national narrative that it is receptive to IVF, these messaging efforts have been undercut by GOP state lawmakers, Republican-dominated courts and anti-abortion leaders within the party’s ranks, as well as opposition to legislative attempts to protect IVF access.

___

The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP’s democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Source link

Continue Reading

Politics

Saskatchewan Party’s Scott Moe, NDP’s Carla Beck react to debate |

Published

 on

 

Saskatchewan‘s two main political party leaders faced off in the only televised debate in the lead up to the provincial election on Oct. 28. Saskatchewan Party Leader Scott Moe and NDP Leader Carla Beck say voters got a chance to see their platforms. (Oct. 17, 2024)

Source link

Continue Reading

Politics

Saskatchewan political leaders back on campaign trail after election debate

Published

 on

 

REGINA – Saskatchewan‘s main political leaders are back on the campaign trail today after hammering each other in a televised debate.

Saskatchewan Party Leader Scott Moe is set to make an announcement in Moose Jaw.

Saskatchewan NDP Leader Carla Beck is to make stops in Regina, Saskatoon and Prince Albert.

During Wednesday night’s debate, Beck emphasized her plan to make life more affordable and said people deserve better than an out-of-touch Saskatchewan Party government.

Moe said his party wants to lower taxes and put money back into people’s pockets.

Election day is Oct. 28.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

Trending