On June 1st, the 8th National Local Election will be held, where all citizens aged 18 or older could vote. This means that Chungbuk National University students could also vote. It was an election held immediately after the 20th presidential election in March, and it was very important because the election of regional representatives has great impact on real life since they get to enforce specific policies. During the national local elections, which are held every four years, citizens can vote for candidates in a total of nine types of elections: city and county councilors, metropolitan councilors, basic councilors, superintendents, etc. Kim Soo-min, a commentator on current affairs, said, “The voter turnout among those in their 20s is key because local elections should be important for those interested in local issues and give them a high sense of accomplishment.” From the presidential election to the local elections in June, the right of young adults to vote in their 20s is considered important because their choices have important long term consequences. Therefore, a CBT reporter interviewed students at Chungbuk National University to find out how young people establish political values these days, and what they value most about the candidates. However, the interview was conducted anonymously considering that the topic may be sensitive.

Q1. Which of the seven local elections in June are you most interested in?
▶A (School of Electronical Engineering, 19): I am most interested in the superintendent and the educational clinic. When I was in high school, the superintendent of Gyeonggi-do was newly elected, and there were many changes depending on the new superintendent. There have been various changes, such as delayed school hours and academy classes, and the disappearance of night self-study, eliminating the school dinner. As the entrance examination is important in Korea, I hope that we can select a dynamic superintendent and educational councilors to create a good entrance examination culture for students and effectively foster the manpower of the future society.
▶S (Dept. of Chinese Language and Literature, 19): I think city and provincial council members are important. This is because while working in the construction sector, I felt that city councilors and provincial councilors were conducting a lot of research and putting in efforts to keep their promises after being elected. Also, seeing the impact of policies in person, I felt that politics that makes a difference in the lives of citizens starts from city and provincial councilors.

Q2. Which do you put more importance on, political parties or candidates?
▶S (Dept. of Chinese Language and Literature, 19): I think political parties are more important. All candidates make pledges for citizens, but I see political parties rather than individual candidates because I think they can have difficulty proceeding if they do not meet the direction the government pursues when implementing the pledges.
▶B (Dept. of Forest Science, 21): In politics, I value political parties because I consider the position and direction of the party to which individual candidates belong. No matter how excellent the candidate is, the candidate’s ability cannot be displayed well if he or she is not influential in a party with power. However, I personally hope that the party can represent a diversity of people and a society that puts the candidate’s ability before the party.  If not, it will prevent competent candidates from participating in politics.

Q3. What is the most important pledge or virtue when looking at candidates?
▶A (School of Electronical Engineering, 19): It is important that the candidate has made a viable pledge and whether it is practical.
▶B (Dept. of Forest Science, 21): I value the fulfillment rate and welfare pledges of candidates. The rate of fulfillment of pledges is a number that can objectively confirm the candidate’s competence , and welfare is an area that can realize political representation that allows the underprivileged to enter the institutional sphere and represent the voices of various classes.
▶S (Dept. of Chinese Language and Literature, 19): I value real estate pledges. Currently, housing prices have risen a lot, which has led to the idea that many young people cannot buy a house even if they work hard. Since real estate is one of the important issues for citizens, many candidates have made real estate-related pledges, and people are expecting a lot from the new government. As a result, I’m interested in how the candidate will control the rising housing prices and how to provide housing.

Q4. What efforts do you make to find objective facts about candidates?
▶B (Dept. of Forest Science, 21): I read a lot of articles, policy discussions, and interviews about candidates to get objective facts about them. Also, when I want to get direct information about a candidate, I watch the candidate’s policy discussion. In the case of policy discussions, candidates speak about their commitments and various issues, so I can see clearly see their competence.
▶O (Dept. of Agricultural Economics, 18): I try to find a lot of interviews with candidates. The words contain the values and thoughts of the person, so I can get to know the candidates well.
▶S (Dept. of Chinese Language and Literature, 19): In order to know the objective facts about a candidate, I watch the pledges of the candidate in his or her past political life and the rate of fulfillment of those pledges. This is because I think we can see how well the candidate can achieve his or her future pledges by looking at their track record.

Q5. Please say a word to encourage Chungbuk National University students to vote.
▶A (School of Electronical Engineering, 19): In the past, I thought I shouldn’t talk about politics with my friends, but now I think a little differently. I want to talk about politics with my friends, from time to time, because the views of the older generation and those in their 20s are a little different, and there are  much less people in their 20s who are interested in politics than I thought. I hope we can listen to various opinions and create a better world where we will live.
▶B (Department of Forest Science, 21): If you are satisfied with the last presidential election, please participate in the vote to empower the new government, and if the outcome of the last presidential election was not satisfactory, please participate in the last chance for a better future of Korea.

  The 8th National Local Election will be held on June 1st. In order to be eligible to vote you need to have a valid form of identification, like a resident registration card, that can be verified at a designated polling station in your residential area. The CBT reporter hopes that students at Chungbuk National University will also exercise their precious right to vote which is both a privilege and a civic duty. Hopefully this will ensure a culture of active participation in determining the direction and destiny of Korea.

By Kim Ji-soo
sixteen@cbnu.ac.kr