Seoul:

What do eye-catching doctors, Dior handbags and green onions have in common? These are hot topics that are raging among voters ahead of South Korea’s legislative elections on Wednesday.

AFP explores a range of surprising issues that could influence South Korean voters as they choose the next members of the 300-seat parliament.

doctors strike

South Korea’s medical service supply has been severely disrupted for weeks since February 20, with thousands of junior doctors going on strike, forcing hospitals to cancel surgeries and vital treatments.

Medical staff oppose President Yoon Seok-yeol’s health care reforms that would significantly increase medical school enrollment to create more doctors to ease shortages and help a rapidly aging nation.

Surveys show public support for the reform plan despite the inconveniences it brings as Seoul refuses to negotiate and threatens legal action.

Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University, told AFP: “Given the overwhelming public support for reforms, the ongoing standoff with medical staff will not hurt Yoon Eun-hye’s party and may even help its performance in the polls. “

wrong ambassador

With the election approaching, Yoon’s new ambassador to Australia and former defense minister Lee Jong-seop resigned on March 29 – less than a month after he was appointed.

Lee is under investigation by corrupt officials over the death of a young Marine during a flood rescue last year, and his appointment drew widespread criticism, including from ruling party lawmakers.

Analysts said that despite his resignation, the fiasco could still have an impact on voters sensitive to the idea that some senior officials believe they are above the law.

Former ruling People’s Power Party (PPP) lawmaker Yoo Seung-min said in an interview with Korean broadcaster MBN on Sunday that people “question whether the Yoon government is implementing these laws in a fair manner.”

dior bag

Hidden camera footage released last year that appeared to show South Korea’s first lady Kim Kun-hee accepting a $2,200 luxury brand handbag also caused a political headache for Yoon Eun-hye and his People’s Party.

The incident, dubbed the “Dior bag scandal” by local newspapers, further hit Yoon’s already low approval ratings and hampered his party’s efforts to regain control of parliament, which it has not held since 2016.

Such a gift would violate South Korean law, which prohibits public officials and their spouses from accepting anything worth more than $750.

Yoon dismissed the video in February, calling it a “political conspiracy” and saying his wife only accepted the bag because it was difficult for her to say no to it.

She has not discussed the issue publicly and has not made any public appearances this year.

North Korea

Despite nuclear-armed North Korea launching an array of increasingly sophisticated missiles, Seoul’s policy toward Pyongyang has not been a major talking point for candidates on the campaign trail.

Why? Political consultant Bae Kang-hoon said this is no longer a problem because South Koreans are used to tense relations with North Korea.

In fact, he said, “the general public sentiment toward North Korea is one of pity, not fear,” and South Korea’s economy is about 40 times the size of North Korea.

But Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, warned that Pyongyang “may soon conduct another launch… to mark a domestic political holiday in North Korea”.

April 15 is an important anniversary in North Korea, usually marked by a military parade or other major political event.

green onions

Economic issues are at the forefront of many voters’ minds, with consumer price inflation hovering above 3 percent, and Gallup polls cite Yoon’s alleged mishandling of the economy as key to negative evaluations of her tenure.

Yin went to a grocery store in March to formally check consumer prices. He looked at a pile of green onions and said, “I’ve been to many markets, and at 875 won ($0.65), the price is very reasonable.”

However, green onions typically sell for three to four times that price, and local media reported that the store had discounted the vegetable before Yin’s visit.

His comments quickly became the subject of ridicule and internet memes, and the vegetable became a rallying cry for the opposition, prompting the National Electoral Commission to ban voters from taking them to the polls.

Former congressman Yoo said on Sunday that South Koreans elected Yoon hoping he could revive the economy, but they were disappointed.

“Yin’s misquotation of scallions exacerbated” this sentiment, he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)