Voting in South Korea : Why is the Liberal party not winning elections?

Abstract: In the last 30 years South Korea has seen rapid institutional changes, leaving behind military dictatorships and evolving into a strong consolidated democracy. This paper will explore voting in South Korea, attempting to answer the research question: Why has the liberal party not been winning elections? The present liberal administration has not had power since 2000. This research is important because it takes a holistic approach in defining the variables at play to the Korean voter as well as refining what seems to be the significant factors to voting choices. There is little research done on the Korean case which tries to understand why Korean voters have voted as they do since the inception of democracy. My paper will attempt to add to the discussion the significant variables at play to the Korean voter. Using quantitative data from the Asian Barometer Survey from 2010-2012 and 2013-2016 to research this paper's aim. The Asian Barometer Survey provides valuable data into studying voting in South Korea as voters directly answer the survey. The regression models showed that government trust and satisfaction were the most important variables in explaining why voters chose the conservative or the liberal party and not economic conditions.