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Internet, Attitude Polarization, and the Local Elections: An Analysis of the 6th Local Election in South Korea

이상신 1

1숭실대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This research aims to see how the internet and new media influence the election and the political process in South Korea via an analysis of survey data that is collected after the 6th local elections in 2014. The first hypothesis is that usage of internet intensifies attitude polarization. The second hypothesis is to reconfirm ‘change hypothesis’ that maintains the liberal domination of online public opinion. With OLS analysis, this research concludes that (1) the communication over the internet does increase the attitude polarization, which is operationally defined as the difference in the evaluations between the most favored and the least favored political parties; and that (2) though the public opinion in Korean cyberspace is still against the Saenuri Party, the conservative ruling party of South Korea, this liberal superiority seems unstable.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.