South Korean Presidential Election Marked by Accusations, Legal Action
2022-03-08
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1The competition between South Korea's two leading presidential candidates has been marked by insults, attacks and legal action.
2Just days before early voting started, Lee Jae-myung from the ruling Democratic Party and Yoon Suk Yeol from the main opposition People Power Party were in a tense campaign.
3A record number of voters, nearly 37 percent, took part in two days of early voting by mail that ended on Saturday
4Hong Joon-pyo is a senior leader in the People Power Party.
5He wrote on Facebook that "It's a dreadful presidential election" because the loser may go to prison.
6He compared the campaign to a fight between dogs.
7There has even been a physical attack.
8On Monday, a man attacked Song Young-gil, the leader of South Korea's ruling Democratic Party.
9Song was attending an event for the party's presidential candidate, Lee Jae-myung.
10Song had to go to the hospital after a stranger hit him on the head with a metal object.
11He left the hospital after treatment.
12The attacker was reported to be a man in his 70s.
13Reuters, which published video of the incident, said it could not confirm the video which came from YouTube.
14It showed the attacker wearing traditional clothing.
15He struck Song on the back of the head.
16Party officials said Song was in good condition and police arrested the man.
17Opinion studies show that both candidates have more critics than supporters.
18It is a time of economic weakness for South Korea after the COVID-19 pandemic and also of fears because of North Korea's missile tests.
19Yoon has accused Lee of wrongdoing related to a land development.
20Lee has denied any connection to it and has tried to link Yoon to the same investigation.
21There have also been attacks on the candidates' wives.
22The candidates' wives have both apologized over separate scandals.
23Their campaign teams and supporters have taken several legal actions.
24They are charging each other with spreading false information, among other issues.
25Choi Jin is the director of the Institute of Presidential Leadership which is based in Seoul.
26Choi is afraid that "...the mutual hatred won't easily die down after the election."
27Voters in South Korea have differing political opinions based on where they live in the country.
28They also have different ideas about North Korea.
29Political opinions also show disagreement between generations, economic groups and on women's rights issues.
30The People Power Party candidate Yoon is more popular with older voters and those in the southeastern area of Gyeongsang Province.
31His supporters want a stronger military alliance with the United States and a strong policy on North Korea.
32They believe past authoritarian rulers quickly developed the economy after the Korean War.
33The Democratic Party candidate Lee enjoys support from younger people and those from Jeolla Province in the southwest.
34His supporters want an equal status in relations with the United States and better relations with North Korea.
35They are critical of the human rights records of past leaders.
36A surprising result of opinion studies suggests that Yoon has received greater approval ratings than Lee from voters aged 18 to 29.
37That voting group was born after South Korea became a developed country.
38Park Sung-min is head of MIN Consulting, a political advising firm based in Seoul.
39"They didn't experience poverty and dictatorships." Park added,
40 "They are very critical of China and North Korea, and they have rather friendly feelings toward the U.S. and Japan."
41Last month, Yoon told a newspaper that if elected, his government would investigate possible wrongdoing by the current government of President Moon Jae-in.
42Lee supported Moon's investigations of past conservative governments.
43He said they were necessary to remove "deep-rooted evils and injustice."
44The disputes are so strong that some have even called the campaign "The Squid Game Election."
45That comes from the popular television show called The Squid Game in which people die if they lose at children's games.
46Cho Jinman is a professor at Seoul's Duksung Women's University.
47He said a new president must hold back and quiet demands to punish political opponents.
48"We now have an election race like 'Squid Game,' but it will be a new president's responsibility to pull us out of it," he said.
49I'm Jill Robbins.
1The competition between South Korea's two leading presidential candidates has been marked by insults, attacks and legal action. 2Just days before early voting started, Lee Jae-myung from the ruling Democratic Party and Yoon Suk Yeol from the main opposition People Power Party were in a tense campaign. A record number of voters, nearly 37 percent, took part in two days of early voting by mail that ended on Saturday 3Hong Joon-pyo is a senior leader in the People Power Party. He wrote on Facebook that "It's a dreadful presidential election" because the loser may go to prison. He compared the campaign to a fight between dogs. 4There has even been a physical attack. On Monday, a man attacked Song Young-gil, the leader of South Korea's ruling Democratic Party. Song was attending an event for the party's presidential candidate, Lee Jae-myung. Song had to go to the hospital after a stranger hit him on the head with a metal object. He left the hospital after treatment. 5The attacker was reported to be a man in his 70s. Reuters, which published video of the incident, said it could not confirm the video which came from YouTube. It showed the attacker wearing traditional clothing. He struck Song on the back of the head. Party officials said Song was in good condition and police arrested the man. 6More critics than supporters 7Opinion studies show that both candidates have more critics than supporters. It is a time of economic weakness for South Korea after the COVID-19 pandemic and also of fears because of North Korea's missile tests. 8Yoon has accused Lee of wrongdoing related to a land development. Lee has denied any connection to it and has tried to link Yoon to the same investigation. There have also been attacks on the candidates' wives. The candidates' wives have both apologized over separate scandals. 9Their campaign teams and supporters have taken several legal actions. They are charging each other with spreading false information, among other issues. 10Choi Jin is the director of the Institute of Presidential Leadership which is based in Seoul. Choi is afraid that "...the mutual hatred won't easily die down after the election." 11Voters in South Korea have differing political opinions based on where they live in the country. They also have different ideas about North Korea. Political opinions also show disagreement between generations, economic groups and on women's rights issues. 12The People Power Party candidate Yoon is more popular with older voters and those in the southeastern area of Gyeongsang Province. His supporters want a stronger military alliance with the United States and a strong policy on North Korea. They believe past authoritarian rulers quickly developed the economy after the Korean War. 13The Democratic Party candidate Lee enjoys support from younger people and those from Jeolla Province in the southwest. His supporters want an equal status in relations with the United States and better relations with North Korea. They are critical of the human rights records of past leaders. 14Youth have not experienced dictatorships 15A surprising result of opinion studies suggests that Yoon has received greater approval ratings than Lee from voters aged 18 to 29. That voting group was born after South Korea became a developed country. 16Park Sung-min is head of MIN Consulting, a political advising firm based in Seoul. "They didn't experience poverty and dictatorships." Park added, "They are very critical of China and North Korea, and they have rather friendly feelings toward the U.S. and Japan." 17Last month, Yoon told a newspaper that if elected, his government would investigate possible wrongdoing by the current government of President Moon Jae-in. 18Lee supported Moon's investigations of past conservative governments. He said they were necessary to remove "deep-rooted evils and injustice." 19The disputes are so strong that some have even called the campaign "The Squid Game Election." That comes from the popular television show called The Squid Game in which people die if they lose at children's games. 20Cho Jinman is a professor at Seoul's Duksung Women's University. He said a new president must hold back and quiet demands to punish political opponents. 21"We now have an election race like 'Squid Game,' but it will be a new president's responsibility to pull us out of it," he said. 22I'm Jill Robbins. 23Hyung-Jin Kim reported on this story for the Associated Press. Jill Robbins adapted it for Learning English. 24____________________________________________________________________ 25Words in This Story 26dreadful - adj. extremely bad or unpleasant 27scandal -n. an occurrence in which people are shocked and upset because of behavior that is morally or legally wrong 28mutual -adj. shared between two or more people or groups 29authoritarian - adj. very strict and not allowing people freedom to do what they want 30What do you think of the way the South Korean presidential candidates are campaigning? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.