A 36-year-old young politician, Lee Jun-seok, is creating a stir in Korean political circles. In the upcoming People Power Party’s election — the biggest conservative party in Korea — for its new leader, Lee has remained a clear front-runner for the chairman seat by large margins leaving other veteran candidates with 20+ experiences behind.
Who is Lee Jun-seok?
Lee, a Harvard graduate and founder of a philanthropic educational service organization, started his political career as a member of an interim emergency leadership council at the age of 26. Since then, although he has run for elections three times, he has not had a chance to serve a parliamentary term yet. However, he has successfully accumulated recognition after starring in several tv shows and serving as a young politician icon.
Why is he so popular?
- The Korean version of Trump: Lee’s popularity came from his emphasis on ‘equality’ He gained large support from male Millennials and Gen Z, who feel left out and discriminated against amidst the rising social discourse about gender equality and feminism. Lee is against any forms of equality measures such as female or regional quota systems because they sabotage ‘fair’ competition based on merits. His stance often reminds people of Trump who took advantage of social conflicts and incited them.
- Generational shift: Lee’s popularity came from his emphasis on ‘equal competition’. He gained large support from male Millennials and Gen Z, who feel left out and discriminated against amidst the rising social discourse about gender equality and feminism. Lee insisted complex gender equality policies can cause more gender conflicts and only the development of technology can empower women in the end. To go further on this, he is against any forms of equality measures such as regional and youth quota systems because they sabotage fair competition based on merits. His stance often reminds people of Trump who took advantage of social conflicts and incited them.
The party is holding its national convention on June 11 to elect its leader. Will the date be remembered as a monumental day when the most conservative party elects the youngest leader in history? We’ll see.
