6 out of 10 people want new faces in 2020 general election

May 28, 2019, 09:15 am

By AsiaToday reporter Nam Ra-da

Six out of 10 South Koreans are unhappy with incumbent lawmakers and they want new faces in the upcoming general election. People are paying attention to how many members of the National Assembly would remain in the 21st National Assembly with the next general election coming in less than a year.

The National Assembly for the people is actually in a ‘shutdown’ state as the ruling and opposition parties continue to collide in favor of gathering support for each other ahead of the general election next year. The results of a regular weekly poll conducted on the fourth week of May by AsiaToday, commissioned by R&Search, shows that the judgment of South Korean people will be tough in the upcoming general election.

59.1 percent of respondents said they want new candidates to replace incumbent local lawmakers. 28 percent of respondents said they want incumbent local lawmakers to be re-elected in the general election next year. This indicates that more than half of the members of parliament may be replaced in the next general election.

Respondents’ preference for new figures was high regardless of regions, support groups, and age groups. In particular, 62 percent of those in their 30s, 65.4 percent in their 40s, 62.1 percent in their 50s, and 62.1 percent of male respondents wanted to replace incumbent lawmakers with new faces. By region, 61.8 percent living in Chungcheong Province, 62.3 percent in Gyeonggi and Incheon, and 66.3 percent in Honam preferred new faces. On the other hand, 29 percent in their 20s, 34 percent living in Seoul, 32.8 percent in Gangwon and Jeju, 31.4 percent in Daegu and Gyeongbuk showed support for incumbent lawmakers. People’s preference for new figures was high regardless of political leanings and supporting parties.

In fact, dissatisfaction level was 60.7%, twice as high as satisfaction level with 31.4 percent. In addition, 35.8% responded ‘Very Dissatisfied’, six times higher than the number of those who responded ‘Very Satisfied’ (7.1%).

“The dissatisfaction of the people in incumbent lawmakers was so high that many preferred new faces to be elected,” said Kim Mi-hyun, director general of R&Search. “If the incumbent lawmakers do not make efforts to improve people’ livelihoods and the national economy, they might struggle to compete against new candidates in the general election next year.”

#general election #public poll #new faces #R&Search; #Asiatoday