South Korean Local Election Panel Study: Nationwide Two Waves, 2010

The South Korean Local Election Panel Study of 2010 examined vote determinants of Korean voters and the causes and dynamics of changes in voter preferences. The survey was conducted from May to June 2010 in two waves with a large-scale panel of 1,200 representing the nation's gender, age, region, and education proportions. The study analyzed factors that influence the formation and change of voter preferences through three broad theoretical frameworks: (1) The sociological model that explains voter preference as a reflection of major social fragmentation (education, gender, income, religion, region, etc.); (2) The psychological model of the Michigan School that explains voter preference formation and change as activation of party identification in United States or Western elections, and regional identification in Korea as a proxy; (3) The rational voter model that posits that individuals, after calculating their own interests, support candidates or parties that possess the policies and ideology to maximize those interests. The South Korean Election Panel studies utilize "tracking core questions": questions that repeatedly track the change in vote determinants. These questions focus on attitudes of candidate factors, political party factors, election campaigns, issues, and policies. In this study, respondents were asked about the local election, their voting behavior, attitudes about political parties, which candidate they voted for in the 2006, 2007, and 2008 elections, exposure to media, major issues in the country, and the Lee Myung-bak administration. Economic questions asked about the living conditions of the respondent's residing city, how this compared to other cities, the respondent's household condition, and the economic situation of the country. Questions were also asked about the performance of President Lee Myung-bak and the respondent's local Governor/Mayor. Demographic variables include gender, age, occupation, religion, level of education, perceived social class, home ownership, and income.