Yoon Suk Yeol is hardly the first elected politician to appear out of touch with ordinary voters during a cost-of-living crisis. But as South Korea prepares for key national assembly elections on Wednesday, its conservative president has been tripped up by a humble vegetable.
In recent weeks, green onions have gone from a simple staple of Korean cooking to a powerful symbol of voter anger over rising prices in Asia’s fourth-biggest economy.
Its ascent from the kitchen into politics came during Yoon’s recent visit to a supermarket in Seoul that was intended to portray him as someone who understands the financial pressures faced by ordinary families.
Yoon said he had been to many markets and described as “reasonable” the store’s 875 won (51p) price tag for a bundle of green onions.
Observers were quick to point out, however, that the items had been only temporarily discounted thanks to government subsidies, while the supermarket had made a further price cut. The actual retail price is three to four times higher, hovering at 3,000-4,000 won in recent weeks.
Yoon’s People Power party is hoping to take control of the 300-seat assembly from a liberal majority led by the opposition Democratic party but the trip to the shops has added to criticism that Yoon appears aloof.
It has fuelled a surge in support for smaller parties that could upset the balance of power and render Yoon a lame-duck leader just two years into his presidency. His party has already been grappling with low approval ratings before the vote, which is being seen as a midterm referendum on Yoon’s administration.
Dining out on onion memes
It is not just the price of green onions that has seen significant rises. The price of agricultural products in March increased by more than 20% from the same month last year. The price of apples increased by nearly 90%, marking the largest one-year-jump since 1980.
Nevertheless, opposition candidates have used green onions as props during campaign speeches to draw attention to Yoon’s hapless attempt to court the average man and woman on the Seoul omnibus.
Social media was awash with onion memes, with some users posting photographs of green onions outside polling stations after the National Election Commission banned green onions from the locations, citing concerns over “electoral interference”.
“While people’s expression of political views should be respected to the maximum level, using a certain item as a means of expression other than for their original purpose has great potential to affect the election,” the commission said.
Hyun Jung, 36, said she hadn’t initially thought about the green onion issue, “but after I heard about the ban, I bought a green onion hairband and I’m determined to wear it on election day”.
If Yoon’s party fails to win more seats and take control of the assembly, Yoon risks seeing out the remaining three years of his term struggling to pass his policy agenda.
“If the People Power party is still a minority party after the general election … cooperation with the National Assembly will be very difficult,” Kang Joo-hyun, a professor of political science and international relations at Sookmyung Women’s University, told Agence France-Presse. “The president will become a lame duck quickly and … the power of state affairs will be greatly reduced.”
In a Gallup survey on 31 March, the opposition Democratic party, led by Lee Jae-myung, was polling slightly ahead of Yoon’s party – 37% to 35%.
The opposition parties are framing the votes as “judgment day”, suggesting that it is not just about choosing political candidates but also an opportunity for the public to send a strong message to the government over its handling of the economy.
Yoon, whose scandal-hit wife has been conspicuously absent from the campaign, is battling low approval ratings. His popularity did, though, gain momentum after he announced an increase in medical school trainees. The move was criticised by thousands of trainee doctors who have been on strike since February but voters who are worried about the country’s ability to care for its fast-ageing population have supported the move.
A four-week-old potential kingmaker
Disaffection with the political establishment has given smaller parties a rare opportunity to gain ground, including the Rebuilding Korea party, led by former justice minister Cho Kuk.
On the eve of the election Cho, whose party is competing only for the 46 seats contested through proportional representation, was polling neck-and-neck with the ruling party, despite being launched only four weeks ago, and is forecast to win between 10 and 15 seats.
Securing about 15 seats would enable Cho’s party to potentially form a coalition that could prevent the People Power party from regaining control of the assembly.
“If the opposition parties gain a significant number of seats … Yoon regime’s system will be shaken, and cracks will appear,” said Cho.
“The People Power party will be divided. The president will become a lame duck, and then a dead duck,” said Cho, who was forced to abandon his presidential ambitions by a 2019 university admissions scandal.
Suh Pureunhaneul, a restaurant employee in Seoul, summed up popular disaffection with the established parties, especially over the prohibitive cost of housing in the capital.
“It feels like they’re just promoting measures to maintain land prices rather than addressing what I really need,” he said. “Looking at the election, it feels like there’s no one I want to vote for. I wonder if voting would even make a difference.”
