"We Don't Want to Be Associated With Them": 2030 Generation Draws a Line

[Anchor]

It was the 2030 generation that took to the streets to lead early protests for voting rights following the shortage of ballots. Recently, they have been raising their voices in new online and offline spaces. Notably, they are drawing a clear line against theories of election fraud.

Reporter Dong Eunyeong has the story.

[Reporter]

Last Saturday, near Hongik University Station in Seoul.

Dozens of young people in their 20s and 30s held Taegeukgi (the Korean national flag) and called for a re-election.

[Re-election! Re-election!]

The notice for the rally stated that no flags other than the Taegeukgi were allowed and that only the slogan "re-election" could be chanted.

The 2030 generation, who find both election fraud conspiracy theories and the presence of the U.S. flag incomprehensible, have begun to voice their opinions separately.

[Seo (surname), a participant in his 20s at the Jamsil rally: There are more and more U.S. flags. I think it is very strange to bring U.S. flags when it is our country's election that went wrong.]

Unlike the initial phase of the protests, which focused on condemning the infringement of voting rights, the prominence of election fraud conspiracy theories at the Olympic Park counting station protests has led to a noticeable decline in participation from the 2030 generation, especially on weekdays.

[Lee Seong-heon, a participant in his 30s at the Jamsil rally: Even talk of South Korea-U.S. cooperation and international investigations... Political forces are inciting the people who came to the rally because their voting rights were infringed upon.]

In a "Voting Rights Gallery" (an online forum) created on a community site, notices have been posted prohibiting "left-wing or right-wing remarks" and "derogatory or hateful slogans."

[Lee Ju-hee, Professor of Sociology at Ewha Womans University: Young people are voluntarily rejecting being absorbed into specific partisan frames, especially far-right messages.]

If hateful remarks are made, the administrators force the individuals to leave.

[Koo Jeong-woo, Professor of Sociology at Sungkyunkwan University: They don't want to be associated with the older generation. There is a desire to boldly voice our suppressed opinions to change society and to participate ourselves.]

Meanwhile, conservative YouTuber Jeon Han-gil revealed two ballot storage boxes from the Jamsil 7-dong No. 2 polling station in Seoul—which he claims the National Election Commission (NEC) had discarded—along with approximately 1,700 voter registry verification slips, and submitted them to the police.

He also filed a complaint against the NEC for dereliction of duty, alleging that they abandoned important election materials. However, criticism is growing over whether the process by which Jeon's side obtained these items, which they claim is a public interest whistleblowing, is itself illegal.

(Video coverage: Kim Hak-mo, Yang Ji-hoon | Video editing: Shin Se-eun | Footage courtesy of BOSS)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.