[WORD_ON_THE_WEB] This is the result of divisive policies'

Voting from young men and women was more divided than ever for the June 1 local elections.

According to the joint exit poll results from three major TV broadcasters, 65.1 percent of men in their twenties or younger voted for a People Power Party (PPP) candidate, while only 32.9 percent vouched for a Democratic Party (DP) candidate.

On the contrary, 66.8 percent of women in their twenties or younger voted for a DP candidate, while 30 percent voted for a PPP candidate.

The gender disparity was also notable for men and women in their 30s.

While 58.2 percent of men in their 30s voted for a PPP candidate, 39.6 percent voted for DP. In comparison, 56 percent of women in their 30s voted for a DP candidate and 42.2 percent voted for PPP.

The voting preferences were also apparent in the voting results for the Seoul mayoral election.

According to exit polls, PPP candidate Oh Se-hoon got overwhelming support from male voters in their 20s or younger. However, only 30.9 percent of female voters in that age bracket voted for him.

#divisive_policies
“This is the result of divisive policies. The Yoon administration appointed only men as ministers. This was a predictable outcome.”
“This is only the result of the previous government’s five years' worth of incitement. Who would be benefitting if we fight between ourselves? Stop and think about it.”

#worrying_future
“The gender dispute is going to cause Korea’s marriage rates and birth rates to drop even more.”
“This is a serious problem. The birth rate in Korea is one of the lowest globally. I’m worried that the political disparity will stir up even more conflict between young men and women.”

#polarized_results
“People weren’t as desperate as they were in the last presidential election. The voters must have been more politically biased people. Maybe it’s no surprise that the results seem more polarized.”
“The voting rate is only 50 percent for the local elections. It’s no use trying to analyze the results.”

BY LEE SI-YEOUNG, YOO JI-WOO [yoo.jiwoo@joongang.co.kr]