Young men back PPP, young women favor Democrats as gender divide shapes local election results

Men in their 20s backed PPP 55.8% vs. women in their 20s backing Democratic Party 66.4%; men in their 50s went 73.6% Democratic, women in their 70s 61.7% PPP

People Power Party standing election committee chair Jang Dong-hyeok (center) and co-chair Song Eon-seog watch exit poll results for the 9th nationwide local elections and the June 3 National Assembly by-elections at the party's election situation room in Yeouido, Seoul, on Wednesday. [Yonhap]

By Kim Do-yoon, The Herald Business

The June 3 local elections revealed a stark gender divide in voting patterns among voters in their 20s and 30s, reconfirming a polarization trend among younger generations that closely mirrored results from the local elections four years ago.

Exit polls released Wednesday by the three major terrestrial broadcasters — KBS, MBC and SBS — showed that 55.8% of male voters aged 18 to 29 supported People Power Party candidates, while 33.0% backed Democratic Party of Korea candidates and 3.2% supported Reform Party candidates.

Among women in the same age group, 66.4% supported the Democratic Party, 25.7% backed the PPP and 2.2% chose the Reform Party.

The results showed a clear split along gender lines, with a majority of young men backing the conservative PPP and a majority of young women supporting the progressive Democratic Party.

The same pattern held among voters in their 30s. Among men in that age group, 48.6% supported the PPP, 42.1% the Democratic Party and 6.3% the Reform Party. Women in their 30s went the other way: 63.5% backed the Democratic Party, 32.5% the PPP and 1.3% the Reform Party.

The voting tendencies of voters in their 20s and 30s closely tracked the 2022 local election exit polls. Four years ago, men in their 20s and younger backed the PPP at 65.1% while women supported the Democratic Party at 66.8%. Among voters in their 30s, men favored the PPP at 58.2% and women leaned toward the Democratic Party at 56.0%.

Gender gap narrows among voters 40 and older; Democrats dominate 40s and 50s, PPP leads 60s and 70s

Outside the 20-to-39 age bracket, gender differences in party preference were far less pronounced nationwide. Voters in their 40s and 50s favored the Democratic Party regardless of gender, while those 60 and older leaned toward the PPP.

Among voters in their 40s, 68.7% of men and 70.2% of women backed the Democratic Party, while 27.5% of men and 26.7% of women supported the PPP.

Among voters in their 50s, 73.6% of men and 65.2% of women supported the Democratic Party, compared with 24.3% of men and 32.0% of women who backed the PPP.

In the 60s and 70-and-older age groups, the PPP commanded higher support regardless of gender.

Democratic Party of Korea leader Jung Chung-rae (second from left, front row) and other party leaders watch local election exit poll results at the National Assembly members' office building in Yeouido, Seoul, on Wednesday afternoon. [Lim Se-jun]

Young men overwhelmingly back Oh in Seoul mayor race; Democrats lead among voters in their 40s and 50s

In Seoul, 75.3% of male voters in their 20s gave overwhelming support to PPP Seoul Mayor-elect Oh Se-hoon. Among women in the same age group, 48.5% backed Democratic Party candidate Jeong Won-o while 41.4% supported Oh.

Women in their 30s bucked the national trend. In that group, 53.6% supported Oh and 42.8% backed Jeong — a 10.8 percentage-point advantage for Oh. That outcome differed sharply from the 2022 election, when 54.1% of women in their 30s had supported the Democratic Party candidate.

The nationwide exit poll on voting preferences by age and gender was conducted Wednesday by KBS, MBC and SBS, in partnership with Korea Research, Ipsos and Korea Research International. Surveyors interviewed 3,756 voters at 63 polling stations across the country from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. The poll had a confidence level of 95% and a margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.

kido@heraldcorp.com