The eyes of the world are on nuclear-armed North Korea, but south of the border there's only one issue that really matters in the upcoming election: the state of the economy.
South Korea's expected growth this year, close to five percent, would be the envy of Japan, the United States and much of Europe. But candidates in the December 19 vote are fielding plenty of grumbles along the election trail. "Business is not good. Please revive the economy," a woman vendor at Seoul's Dongdaemun clothes market told frontrunner Lee Myung-Bak last week. "I will make it better," he promised, holding her hand.
Analysts say Lee, candidate of the conservative opposition Grand National Party, is riding a wave of discontent over slowing growth under a decade of liberal rule.
"The prime concern of voters is the economy," Huh Chan-Guk of the Korean Economic Research Institute told AFP.
South Korea recovered strongly from the 1997 economic crisis, which forced massive corporate restructuring and left millions jobless. But over the past decade the growth rate has still fallen to an annual average of 4.4 percent, down from the pre-crisis average of eight percent.
President Roh Moo-Hyun has alienated left-leaning supporters by soft-pedalling on social issues and lost mainstream support because of economic problems, Huh said.
"Young people who supported the liberal government in previous elections feel frustrated. They are now more interested in growth and practical issues as they find it harder to get jobs."
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