The perception of “youth political indifference” has now become a firmly entrenched belief in Korea. It is suggested that young people, who have led student movements and advocated for social issues, are gradually excluding politics from their personal lives. But are the youth in contemporary society truly disinterested in politics?

In anticipation of the upcoming 22nd general elections scheduled for April 10th, “Channel PNU” conducted a survey for two weeks from March 4th targeting Pusan National University (PNU) students, who are eligible voters, to inquire about their perception of politics. 155 students responded to questions regarding their past participation in general elections, intention to participate in the upcoming general election, factors influencing their choice of candidates, and the importance they place on election promises.

■“Youth Political Indifference” is Not a Fact

Contrary to the notion that “young people are indifferent to politics,” the majority of PNU students who responded to the survey showed an intention to express their opinions by voting in the upcoming 22nd general election. 94.8% (147 students) of respondents stated that they would exercise their voting rights in this election. The percentage of those who admitted not voting in past major elections, despite having the right to vote, was minimal, with only 13 students (11.3% of those eligible to vote) for the 20th presidential election and 17 students (21% of those eligible to vote) for the 21st general election.

In reality, the current younger generation has had the highest voter turnout in general elections over the past 20 years. Voter turnout among those in their 20s reached its peak in the 21st general election, surpassing all previous elections since 2000. According to the voter turnout analysis conducted by the National Election Commission (NEC) after each election, the overall voter turnout among those in their 20s increased by more than 1.5 times from the 16th general election in 2000 (39.9%) to the 21st general election in 2020 (60.9%).

The increase in youth voter participation was even more pronounced in presidential elections. In both the 19th presidential election in 2017 and the 20th presidential election in 2022, the actual voter turnout of the total eligible voters among voters aged 30s and under exceeded 70%. This represents a significant increase of more than 20 percentage points compared to the that in the 2000s, which hovered around the 50% mark. The NEC’s “Presidential Election Guidebook” published after the 19th presidential election analyzed this trend, stating that “The voter turnout of the younger age group, those aged 30s and under, increased significantly compared to the 18th presidential election.”

Min Hee (Prof. of  Political Science and Diplomacy, PNU) stated, “It’s not true that young people are indifferent to politics, but rather, their way of expressing interest in politics differs from previous generations.” She emphasized that as they are sensitive and high interested in specific issues relevant to themselves, it is difficult to ignore them. She mentioned, “The issue that young people are most interested in nowadays is “fairness.” Looking back at past elections, parties that respond sensitively to fairness issues achieved good results.”

■Are politics indifferent to youth?

The primary concern of voters in their 20s was the economy and employment issues. In the survey, when asked which area of policy they considered most important, 63.2% (98 individuals) responded that it was the economy, including job-related matters. Furthermore, when asked about the most crucial factor in selecting a candidate, the majority of young people ranked “policy promises” as their top priority, with 41.9% choosing it as their first preference and 31.0% as their second preference. Therefore, it can be said that these economic policies, especially those related to employment, significantly influence the sentiments of young voters.

In addition to economic issues, various areas of interest were addressed in the candidates’ policy proposals. Policies about education and to address low birth rates were considered equally important, with 10.3% of respondents each. Some students also mentioned environmental and gender equality issues, accounting for 4.5% and 3.9% of responses, respectively. Moreover, there were mentions of policies related to welfare systems, national security, and regional balanced development as being important.

However, their needs have not been adequately addressed in the legislature. According to an investigation by the news outlet Newstapa on February 24th, among 980 proposed bills containing keywords related to youth issues such as employment, housing, and military service, only 7% were related to entrepreneurship policies and 6% to job-related policies. The approval rate for all youth-related bills was merely 2.45%, failing to reach even half of the overall approval rate of 5.13% for all bills.

The gap between the needs of young people and the legislative agenda exists. Lee Hyun (37),  a candidate from the Democratic Party of Korea, suggests, “Those responsible for formulating policies often fail to fully understand the perspectives of young people. Collectively considering the values of the younger generation is important rather than dividing into specific issues. Creating a culture of acknowledging and respecting differences between generations is crucial for overcoming differences and enduring the challenges of passing legislation.”

There is also a growing need for young people to not only participate as voters, but also to establish themselves as significant political players. Choi Jong-Won (head of corporate management planning office in Keonkuk Middle School and High School), a young politician who ran as a preliminary candidate for the People Power Party in Busan Saha-gu in the recent general election, said “I hope that more youth actively engage in politics to voice their concerns. A positive cycle where young and young politicians collectively amplify their voices needs to occur for representative young politicians to emerge.”

To address these issues, experts suggest that political parties need to focus on their core role of recruiting political elites, establishing a structure that allows for the growth of new young politicians within the party. Prof. Min said, “Recruiting external figures for political reform is a trend. Political parties should establish a system that utilizes young individuals who have gradually grown within the party’s organization.”

■An Election Dominated by Hatred

The biggest obstacle to improving political consciousness in recent times has been the rising tide of “politics of hate.” It was been observed that many young people have been significantly influenced by this trend. Among the 155 participants in the survey, 29.7% (46 individuals) cited “the candidate’s affiliated party” as the most influential factor in choosing a candidate. Among them, 64.4% (25 individuals) stated that they support a particular party due to their dislike of the opposing party. Even when considering all respondents, 16% overall cited antipathy towards a specific party as a determining factor in their voting decision.

The issue of political hatred stems from the divisiveness brought about by political polarization. The problem lies in how this dynamic is turning young people away from politics once again. Prof. Min mentioned, “The ruling and opposition parties are not making efforts to resolve emotional confrontations through dialogue and compromise. But they form extreme confrontational dynamics. As parties become represent specific political figures, the problem of political hatred becomes more pronounced.”

Experts believe that this issue can be an opportunity. Even when expressing at least “hatred,” that political culture needs to be reformed. Choi Jong-Won, remarked, “Just as there’s a saying that “no comment” is worse than negative comments, from the perspective of political participation, there’s nothing worse than indifference. Even in the face of hate politics, we must seize this opportunity for reflection and strive to improve the political situation even slightly.”

Reporter You Seung-Hyun and Choi Yun-Hui

Translated by Ha Chae-Won