Presidential candidates having a field day online on Election Day after law change
As the votes roll in on the Election Day, the candidates for South Korea’s presidential election are continuing on with their last-ditch efforts to persuade the voters that they are the most capable ones to dig the country out of the hole left by the corrupt ex-leader Park Geun-hye.
The Election Law which prohibited campaigning on the day of an election was revised in February, allowing the candidates to appeal to the voters via texts or online even on the Election Day.
Front-runner Moon Jae-in, whose camp is the most tech-savvy as he enjoys sizeable support among youngsters, has been running a live broadcast vote campaign on his YouTube channel encouraging voters to go out to the polling booths.
Moon himself and fellow members of the Democratic Party of Korea -- including party leader Choo Mi-ah -- have appeared on the “Moon Jae-in TV” that is to continue until 8:00 p.m. today, when the polling booths will close.
“My supporters have so much passion. It’s not because I ask them to, but they voluntarily promote me and persuade other people. I feel the happiest as a politician when I feel that such people are with me,” he said on the program.
Ahn Cheol-soo of the People’s Party, whose support waned after his less-than-impressive showing on the TV debates, is appealing to voters who are sick of the left vs right standoff that dominates Korean politics.
His slogan has targeted the non-partisan voters, with the words “It is time to end that sickening fight between conservatives and liberals. Ahn Cheol-soo is the answer.”
He broadcast on Facebook Live to encourage votes.
“Politicians must fear voters to do their job right. Voting is what makes the politicians work for the people,” he said.
Conservative candidate Hong Joon-pyo of the Liberty Korea Party did not appear on any live broadcasts, but he too has been actively using social media to scrape last-minute votes.
“The voting goes on until 8:00 p.m. The election will determine whether it is ‘pro-North (Korea) leftists’ or ‘free Korea.’ Let’s all go to the polling booths and protect free Korea,” he said on his Facebook account.
Hong and his supporters have been accusing Moon and other liberal candidates of being pro-North Korea, as liberals have traditionally leaned toward diplomacy and economic cooperation rather than military options in dealing with the North.
Hong made a late surge in support ratings, appealing to Korea’s large population of traditionally conservative voters with his firmly right-leaning politics, putting him neck-and-neck with Ahn.
Justice Party chief and candidate Shim Sang-jung, the darling of young progressives despite her relatively low ratings, broadcast her casting her vote and also having conversation with voters.
Rep. Roh Hoe-chan, her political ally and floor leader for the minor opposition party, encouraged the voters to vote for whomever they feel for. His comment referred to liberal supporters‘ tendency to vote for a liberal candidate mostly likely to win due to the fact that the number of conservative voters has been usually larger than liberal ones.
“Administration change (to liberals) is a sure thing,” he said, referring to a huge lead in ratings that Moon has enjoyed. “If you saw hope in Shim and the Justice Party, vote for her...Every vote will be a seed that bears the fruit of reform in the next administration.”
Yoo Seung-min, the presidential candidate of the conservative Bareun Party, has also pleaded voters to vote for whomever they support, not the candidates with the highest rating in their political spectrum.
By Yoon Min-sik (minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)
The Election Law which prohibited campaigning on the day of an election was revised in February, allowing the candidates to appeal to the voters via texts or online even on the Election Day.
Front-runner Moon Jae-in, whose camp is the most tech-savvy as he enjoys sizeable support among youngsters, has been running a live broadcast vote campaign on his YouTube channel encouraging voters to go out to the polling booths.
Moon himself and fellow members of the Democratic Party of Korea -- including party leader Choo Mi-ah -- have appeared on the “Moon Jae-in TV” that is to continue until 8:00 p.m. today, when the polling booths will close.
“My supporters have so much passion. It’s not because I ask them to, but they voluntarily promote me and persuade other people. I feel the happiest as a politician when I feel that such people are with me,” he said on the program.
Ahn Cheol-soo of the People’s Party, whose support waned after his less-than-impressive showing on the TV debates, is appealing to voters who are sick of the left vs right standoff that dominates Korean politics.
His slogan has targeted the non-partisan voters, with the words “It is time to end that sickening fight between conservatives and liberals. Ahn Cheol-soo is the answer.”
He broadcast on Facebook Live to encourage votes.
“Politicians must fear voters to do their job right. Voting is what makes the politicians work for the people,” he said.
Conservative candidate Hong Joon-pyo of the Liberty Korea Party did not appear on any live broadcasts, but he too has been actively using social media to scrape last-minute votes.
“The voting goes on until 8:00 p.m. The election will determine whether it is ‘pro-North (Korea) leftists’ or ‘free Korea.’ Let’s all go to the polling booths and protect free Korea,” he said on his Facebook account.
Hong and his supporters have been accusing Moon and other liberal candidates of being pro-North Korea, as liberals have traditionally leaned toward diplomacy and economic cooperation rather than military options in dealing with the North.
Hong made a late surge in support ratings, appealing to Korea’s large population of traditionally conservative voters with his firmly right-leaning politics, putting him neck-and-neck with Ahn.
Justice Party chief and candidate Shim Sang-jung, the darling of young progressives despite her relatively low ratings, broadcast her casting her vote and also having conversation with voters.
Rep. Roh Hoe-chan, her political ally and floor leader for the minor opposition party, encouraged the voters to vote for whomever they feel for. His comment referred to liberal supporters‘ tendency to vote for a liberal candidate mostly likely to win due to the fact that the number of conservative voters has been usually larger than liberal ones.
“Administration change (to liberals) is a sure thing,” he said, referring to a huge lead in ratings that Moon has enjoyed. “If you saw hope in Shim and the Justice Party, vote for her...Every vote will be a seed that bears the fruit of reform in the next administration.”
Yoo Seung-min, the presidential candidate of the conservative Bareun Party, has also pleaded voters to vote for whomever they support, not the candidates with the highest rating in their political spectrum.
By Yoon Min-sik (minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)
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