100 people surveyed outside the handball stadium
'Protest against rights violations' cited most often
All 100 respondents said electoral commission reform is needed
"Our fundamental rights as citizens have been violated. We had no choice but to come out."
Outside the Olympic Park handball stadium in Songpa-gu, Seoul, demonstrators who gathered to protest the ballot shortage that disrupted the June 3 local elections said their right to vote was the reason they showed up.
The Herald Business conducted an on-site survey of 100 rally participants near the Olympic Park handball stadium between Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning. Respondents were asked about their political leanings, their reasons for attending, and whether they believed the National Election Commission needed reform.
Of the 100 respondents, 64 were men and 36 were women. By age group: four were in their teens, 29 in their 20s, 19 in their 30s, 13 in their 40s, 13 in their 50s, 11 in their 60s, nine in their 70s, and two in their 80s.
When asked why they had come, the largest group — 56 respondents — said they were there "to protest the violation of their basic rights." Twenty-one cited "protest against election fraud," and 14 pointed to "the current government's incompetence." The inability to cast a ballot properly appeared to resonate most broadly, though a significant number connected the incident to broader allegations of electoral fraud. Others gave reasons such as "I was angry" or "I came to support young people."
Among those surveyed, 69 described their political leanings as "conservative," 24 said "moderate," and two identified as "progressive." Five declined to answer.
On the question of National Election Commission reform, all 100 respondents said reform was necessary. Of those, 78 said "strongly yes," adding that the commission should be "dissolved and reconstituted" or that those responsible should face "punishment."
The remaining 22, who answered "yes," said the current organization should be kept but that alternatives such as introducing an oversight mechanism needed to be considered.
The rally drew a diverse crowd that no survey could fully capture. Among them was a 40-year-old surnamed Lee from Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province — one of only two respondents who identified as "progressive."
"I even find myself suspecting that the current government exploited the election commission's complacency and sloppiness," Lee said.
'I have exams in two weeks, but I took an hour and a half to get here'
Two high school students made the trip from Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, riding the subway for an hour and a half to reach the rally. Jo, 18, and her friend Lee, 18, said they had no right to vote but came to make their voices heard. "We have exams in about two weeks, but we thought national affairs matter more than university entrance exams, so we came," Jo said. "We came straight from school. Our parents think we went to study," she added with a laugh.
"We read John Stuart Mill's 'On Liberty' and were deeply moved by it. That made us feel that the value of freedom is important, and that's why we came to the rally," she said. "We think holding a re-election is the top priority."
'If the same failures keep happening, isn't that fraud?'
A 55-year-old surnamed Ryu, a resident of Dogok-dong in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, said he had been attending the rally every day by changing his morning walking route. "As a parent raising a child in their 20s, I felt I had to stand up against a flawed election," he said.
"If a flawed election keeps repeating itself, shouldn't that be considered fraud?" Ryu said. "The counting needs to be done properly — by hand, without early voting."
'I was furious watching an elderly protester being dragged away on video'
Kim, a 25-year-old from Paju, said he came after seeing a social media video of an elderly man being dragged out of the rally. "It makes no sense that citizens are being stripped of their right to vote," he said. "This is a democracy built through the pro-democracy movement — it's heartbreaking to see its spirit collapse in an instant."
"My political leanings are 'moderate,' but my parents support the Democratic Party," Kim said. "They tried to talk me out of coming, and we had a huge fight before I left."
20ki@heraldcorp.com
kido@heraldcorp.com
