President Moon"s Democratic Party wins mandate with record turnout in South Korea By Phillip A. Howard
South Korea held elections during the COVID-19 pandemic and experienced a record turnout of voters. The Democratic Party, led by President Moon Jae-in, won comfortably.
Moon’s approval rating was not strong after years of slow economic growth, but his response to the COVID-19 outbreak boosted him above 50 percent. Moon’s win, coupled with 60 percent supermajority gains made by left-leaning parties in South Korea, the Democratic Party of Korea its biggest win in history. The opposition United Future Party unsuccessfully tried to shift the attention towards the sluggish economic growth and mounting corruption scandals that involved aides of President Moon.
Photo from BBC
Moon’s win gives his government more power to enact a larger stimulus bill for South Koreans suffering from the effects of the coronavirus. The latest package is offering emergency cash handouts to help families fulfill their basic needs. Meanwhile, institutions such as the Bank of Korea have been cutting interest rates and giving out individual loans to securities firms to shore up the South Korean economy.
Angela Hsieh, an economist with Barclays Bank, expressed hope that the new monetary policy adopted by the Moon administration will increase the likelihood of policy coordination between different branches of South Korea’s government that steer economic policy. Hsieh said “this is especially critical during the emergency phase, when swift coordinated policy efforts between different agencies are urgently needed.”
South Korea’s elections could serve as a model for other democratic nations that will be holding elections later this year. Compared to primary elections that were recently held in Wisconsin, South Korea had safety measures in place to ensure voters were protected.
Phillip Howard is a graduate student at Utica College
