UNEMPLOYMENT, PARTISAN ISSUE OWNERSHIP, AND VOTE SWITCHING Evidence from South Korea

Abstract

How do voters respond to individual worries about the employment situation in elections? This paper examines the effect of issue salience of the employment situation on voter choice. Drawing theoretical insights from the partisan salience of issue voting theories, I argue that voters who previously supported parties on the right are likely to change their political allegiance to support a center-left party when they think the employment issue is one of the most salient issues in the election. Furthermore, I argue that middle income voters are more likely to respond to an increasing salience of the employment issue than other groups are. These theoretical arguments are tested against the post-crisis 2002 Korean presidential election survey data. The empirical evidence from the Korean case suggests that structural reforms of the economy and neoliberal economic policies can evoke particular voting patterns in the voters.