South Korean Political Crisis & Gender Divide

Presidential Election Snapshot

• South Korea just held a presidential election; at the time of recording it was nighttime in Seoul and only exit-poll data were available.

• Joint exit poll by all major TV broadcasters gave Lee Jae Myeong of the Democratic Party a comfortable lead of 12 percentage points.

• South-Korean exit polls are historically reliable, so media outlets were already projecting Lee as the new president, with an official declaration expected within a few hours.

• Democratic Party = broadly left-leaning, mainstream; its base includes many young, progressive, and urban voters.

• People Power Party (PPP) = conservative, nationalist, and—at this moment—leaderless after the impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol.

Personal Security Measures for Lee Jae Myeong

• Photo described as “telling you everything about South-Korean politics”: Lee behind bulletproof glass on election-night.

• Regularly wears protective vest under his suit.

• Security detail flanks him with ballistic briefcases:

  • Made of armor-grade material capable of stopping handgun fire.

  • Fold out into multi-panel shields during an attack.

• Motivation: an assassination attempt in which Lee was stabbed in the neck last year while working a rope-line.

• Opponents routinely label him “dictator” and “monster,” indicating extreme polarization.

Sequence of Leaders – “5 Presidents in 5 Months”

• South Korea is described as having rotated through 5 different presidents in the past 5 months due to impeachments, arrests, and caretaker governments.

• Country effectively leaderless for 6 months leading up to this election.

Lee Jae Myeong vs. Yoon Suk-yeol: Rivalry & Impeachment Saga

• The two men ran against each other in the previous cycle; Yoon barely edged out a win.

• Less than 2 years into office, Yoon declared martial law under what courts later called “dubious pretenses” (widely viewed as a power grab).

• First sitting South-Korean president ever arrested while in office.

• Yoon was impeached, removed, and ultimately jailed; Lee (who had spear-headed the impeachment) now “wins in the end.”

Atmosphere of Political Polarization & Threats

• BBC reports: chants for execution of various leaders had become commonplace at rallies.

• March police investigation uncovered a credible assassination plot against Lee.

• Widespread conspiracy theories, disinformation, and personalized online attacks:

  • Labels such as “pro-Chinese,” “pro-North-Korean,” or “traitor” flung as standard rhetoric.

• Trust in all institutions—from the presidency to courts—has “sharply declined.”

Ideological Gender Divide Among Youth

• Mirrors a wider OECD trend: Gallup finds young U.S. women are 15 percentage points more liberal than young men; South Korea’s gap is larger and sharper.

• International Women’s Day rally in Seoul featured chants: “We vote for feminism.”

• Young women have become a key progressive bloc, while young men lean conservative.

• Example voice:

  • Lee Sang-mi (age 31) says gender equality is back-sliding; blames the conservative government.

Conservative Strategy: Targeting Male Grievances

• President Yoon campaigned on abolishing the Ministry of Gender Equality & Family (MOGEF).

• Tactical framing: “Divide men and women, collect men’s votes.”

• Result: Young men became one of his most ardent constituencies; young women the least supportive.

Structural & Economic Backdrop to Gender Tensions

• Prof. (unnamed in transcript, identified as at Ewha Womans Univ.) notes:

  • Educational parity: Gender gap in schooling has closed thanks to falling birth rates and fierce educational investment.

  • Labor-market disparity persists: South Korea’s gender wage gap is the largest in the developed world.

  • Low representation of women on corporate boards and in parliament.

Perceptions & Grievances Among Young Men

• Pollster Chung Han-ul: men feel they are “falling behind” while also losing ~2 years to mandatory military service.

• 2019 survey: 70\% of men in their 20s say discrimination against men is serious.

• Example interviewee Kim Sung-hyun (age 22, engineering student):

  • Voting conservative because of gender-policy stance.

  • Opposes quotas for female police or soldiers; argues each sex has “strengths and weaknesses.”

Role of Social Media & Echo Chambers

• Kim and multiple experts emphasize algorithmic radicalization:

  • Parties’ positions appear more extreme online than in reality.

• Stanford researcher Alice Evans: Echo chambers generate male resentment—“women getting hand-outs, nothing for us.”

Demographic & Societal Implications

• Birth rate in South Korea is the lowest in the world (exact figure not provided but below 1.0 births per woman).

• Rising gender animosity reduces enthusiasm for dating, marriage, and childbirth.

• Prof. Ho Min-ki: If women cannot find partners whose values align (e.g., feminist), they simply opt out of relationships.

• Potential risks:

  • Further demographic collapse.

  • Undermining democratic legitimacy via persistent polarization.

Comparative & Ethical Reflections

• South-Korean scenario echoes—but intensifies—global trends in gendered politics.

• Ethical implications:

  • Weaponizing anti-feminist rhetoric for votes may entrench sexism and throttle economic growth.

  • Conversely, ignoring male grievances (conscription, economic precarity) may fuel reactionary backlash.

• Real-world relevance: Companies entering Korean market, diplomats, and NGOs must navigate a landscape where gender and politics are deeply intertwined.

Quick Reference – Key Numbers & Facts

• 5 presidents in 5 months (political churn).

• 6 months without a formal head of state.

• Exit-poll margin: 12 pp lead for Lee.

• Young U.S. women vs. men: 15 pp liberal gap.

• 70\% of Korean men in 20s perceive anti-male bias (2019 survey).

• Birth rate < 1.0 (world’s lowest).

• Gender wage gap: largest among OECD nations.

End of study notes.