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South Korea bans protest onions at polling stations after Yoon’s ‘reasonable price’ gaffe
- Yoon Suk-yeol has faced a growing backlash for commenting on the price of spring onions during a supermarket photocall amid surging food inflation
- Opponents and critics seized the opportunity to make onions a symbol of protest against his government’s perceived failure to address economic woes
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As South Korea gears up for pivotal parliamentary elections this week, voters find themselves navigating a peculiar ban forbidding them from taking spring onions to polling stations.
The restriction comes amid a growing wave of political discontent, as skyrocketing vegetable prices and other economic challenges plague the nation.
Most opinion polls have conservative President Yoon Suk-yeol’s ruling People Power Party locked in an uphill battle with the liberal opposition Democratic Party of Korea and its allies for control of the 300-seat parliament in Wednesday’s elections.
A record-breaking turnout – in excess of 31 per cent – during advance voting on Friday and Saturday is a reflection of the electorate’s heightened engagement in the polls, seen as a midterm referendum on Yoon’s leadership.
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The president himself voted alone in the southern city of Busan on Friday, a departure from a tradition in which presidential couples typically cast their ballots together in front of television cameras.
Yoon’s wife Kim Keon-hee has remained out of the public eye since allegations surfaced in November that she received a Dior handbag as a gift.
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South Korea bans protest onions at polling stations ahead of parliamentary elections
South Korea bans protest onions at polling stations ahead of parliamentary elections
Traditionally, concerns over North Korea’s nuclear threat have galvanised conservative voters.
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