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 By Kang Hyun-kyung Ahn Cheol-soo, the founder of the anti-computer virus company AhnLab, is literally the total package. The 49-year-old leader of the successful Internet startup is smart and super-rich. Plus, he is a community builder willing to share his talents and products with computer users grappling with viruses. Among people in their 20s and 30s, there are plenty of “Ahn wannabes” who dream of making a fortune while doing what they want to in their career, just like the computer genius. These people continue to back Park Won-soon, an independent candidate for the opposition camp, in the mayoral race, whereas their cohorts in their 40s or older show signs of looking to Na Kyung-won, the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) candidate. Recent polls show the gap between Park and Na has significantly narrowed as the election nears. But support for Park among people in their 20s and 30s remains intact. Pollsters said a voter turnout of Ahn wannabes will determine the results of the Seoul mayoral election slated for Oct. 26. “For college students, Ahn is a hero,” Lee Seung-joon, a college student, said. “Idealists on campus would like to become someone like Ahn.” The computer genius was a medical school student. But he was determined to change his career to one involving computers, his first love. Earlier, Ahn topped public opinion surveys where respondents were asked to name their preferred candidate for the Seoul mayoral race. He decided not to run, but to back Park Won-soon. Some of his supporters, especially those in their 20s and 30s, began looking to Park, a former civic group activist, as an alternative. “My classmates talk a lot more about Park. I think this is probably because Park received an endorsement from their hero Ahn,” said Lee. Kim Young-in, a campaign strategist working with the GNP, said young voters are heavily influenced by their perception of candidates. “They care a lot about how candidates look, instead of their vision or expertise,” he said. “Thus, campaign strategists pay extra attention to tactics that can help candidates have an appealing image to voters. We call this an image campaign,” Kim said. Lim Min-joon, a college freshman, said his classmates are affected largely by information flaring up online as they are heavy Internet users. During a recent conversation with a classmate, the 20-year-old learned that Na Kyung-won was in trouble after a photo where she bathed handicapped children was released. “My classmate said that Na’s political career is over and he would not vote for her,” said Lim. After the photo was released online, some civic activists and progressive Internet news outlet services alleged the former lawmaker took advantage of physically challenged children for her campaign. “Just like other first-year university students, my friend is good at surfing the Internet and is influenced a lot by online news and bloggers’ comments in Internet chat rooms or forums,” said Lim. “He chose his preferred candidate or those he would vote against based on information that he gathered online.” Unlike those in their 20s and 30s, GNP campaign strategist Kim said people in their 40s or older show an interest in candidates’ vision. “These voters know that their standard of living will be affected by their choice in the election,” he said. Income earners or housewives are pragmatic and they want to know in great detail how the taxes they pay are being spent. Moon Jung-sook, a university lecturer, said she plans to vote for Na. Moon, 44, believes the judge-turned-politician fits the role of Seoul mayor better than Park. She regretted Ahn Cheol-soo decided not to run. “If he was in the race, I would go ahead with voting for him. I don’t know about Ahn in great detail, but I feel that he is a trustworthy and credible person,” she said. With the absence of the computer genius, Moon said she believed Na could do the mayoral job better than Park, noting she was her second choice before Ahn declined to run.
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| hkang@koreatimes.co.kr |
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