Conservative Candidate Wins South Korean Presidential Election
Voters in South Korea recently elected Yoon Suk-yeol as president. The election represented the closest in the country’s history with the People Power Party’s candidate Mr. Yoon winning by less than 1 percent over the Democratic Party’s candidate Lee Jae-myung.
The most salient issues confronting voters were gender inequality and the state of the economy. Beyond rising house prices and youth unemployment, President-elect Yoon ran on the platform that he plans to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality & Family which attempts to improve the lives of women and children.
What happened in South Korea?
INSTRUCTORS: click the link below to download this week’s lecture for use in your classroom. The deck contains a writing prompt and a debate question as well as other assessment questions.
Videos:
News Articles:
South Korea: Conservative candidate Yoon Suk-yeol elected president
BBC NEWS
March 10, 2022
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-60685141
South Korea president-elect’s pledge to shutter gender ministry stirs debate
REUTERS
March 18, 2022
South Korean president-elect says to move future office beyond Blue House: media
CGTN
March 20, 2022
News Articles (Analyses):
Yoon’s win reflects South Korea’s unquenched thirst for justice
THE KOREA HERALD
March 10, 2022
http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20220310000398
South Korea’s clash of corporate titans after ‘Squid Game’ election
NIKKEI ASIA
March 17, 2022
https://asia.nikkei.com/Opinion/South-Korea-s-clash-of-corporate-titans-after-Squid-Game-election
South Korea: Yoon’s Election And Seoul’s New Foreign Policy Strategy In Indo-Pacific – Analysis
EURASIA REVIEW
March 22, 2022
The Election of a Conservative South Korean President is Good News for the U.S. | Opinion
NEWSWEEK
March 22, 2022
https://www.newsweek.com/election-conservative-south-korean-president-good-news-us-opinion-1690126
Assessment:
Writing:? What is the significance of Mr. Yoon’s victory?
Debate: What is the best way to achieve gender equality in South Korea?
Poll: Should South Korea deploy the THAAD system over China’s objections?
Short Answer: How will the geopolitics of the Korean peninsula change as a result of Mr. Yoon’s victory?
QUIZ:
Mr. Yoon won South Korea’s presidential election in a landslide. (T/F)
A majority of South Koreans support shutting down or restructuring the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. (T/F)
Mr. Yoon is a political novice and former prosecutor. (T/F)
Which two countries will South Korea work closer with in the years ahead?
- China and Japan.
- U.S. and Japan.
- North Korea and China.
- Russia and North Korea.
Voter turnout for South Korea’s presidential election was ____?
a. high.
b. low.
c. above 78% of eligible voters.
d. below 48% of eligible voters.
All the following were the most important issues facing voters in South Korea’s presidential election EXCEPT.
a. Housing prices.
b. Youth unemployment.
c. Climate change.
d. Gender inequality.
