MEN FOR YOON
Yoon is himself accused of capitalising on the fears of young men.
He courted them on the 2022 election campaign trail with denials of institutional discrimination against women and promises to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality, which his supporters claimed was “outdated”.
Exit polls after that vote showed Yoon won the election with approximately 58 per cent of ballots from men in their 20s.
Meanwhile, his liberal rival, opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, garnered the same percentage of votes from women in their 20s.
Experts say Yoon has used the support of young men for his own political survival while dismissing the importance of young women.
“He recognised that it would be difficult to gain their (women’s) support, so he treated them as if they didn’t exist from the beginning,” said Kwon Soo-hyun, sociology professor at Gyeongsang National University.
“Economic instability acts as a key driver pushing young people toward conservatism,” she added, saying Yoon’s administration has tried to blame “women influenced by feminism” and migrants.
While a gap between South Korea’s Gen-Z clearly already existed, the protracted political crisis has made it more entrenched.
“When talking about politics with my friends, no matter how much I tell them the truth, they don’t listen,” said Yang Ui-bin, 25, holding a “Stop the Steal” sign.
“So, we naturally become distant.”
