Candidate Image Factors in Korean Presidential Elections: Differentiated Effects on Independent Voters

This paper analyzes how important candidate image factors are in South Korean presidential elections and for whom they are more important.We find a significant causal relationship between candidate image and final vote choice in both the 2012 and 2007 presidential elections in South Korea.From a perspective of cross-group comparison, we also find that candidate image factors influence nonpartisan/independent voters more than ideological/partisan voters.Although the data in this paper were gathered in the past(12-17 years ago), the implications for further research are significant given the unique historical context, the only high-quality data measuring candidate image in a Presidential election, and the growing influence of nonpartisan/independent voters in South Korea.Nevertheless, this study covers two Presidential elections in Korea in 2007 and 2012.It is necessary to conduct followup studies to determine whether the candidate image factor continues to be influential in subsequent Presidential elections and whether the same phenomenon occurs in other types of elections, such as parliamentary elections.Furthermore, a comprehensive follow-up study should be conducted across time and space to determine whether the same can be understood in Korea and in Western democracies such as the United States and the United Kingdom.