Today is the big day for the U.S. election:
Koreans with voting rights in the U.S. head to the polls today to cast their ballots in what is considered one of the messiest, most contentious and controversial presidential elections in U.S. history.
As unpredictable as this election night is expected to be, it is unclear whether Koreans, as a whole, will choose the Democratic or Republican ticket.
”I’ve never struggled this much to make up my mind on who to vote,” said Park Dong-hwan, 56, who owns a laundry business in the suburbs of Seattle. After acquiring U.S. citizenship, this is his third time voting in the U.S. presidential election.
”I’ve always been a Republican, but I didn’t want to vote for Trump. I really didn’t,” said Park, who still ended up voting for the Republican candidate via mail-in ballot. ”That was my biggest struggle.”
Same goes for Democratic supporter Ji Choi, 34, who is yet to decide which way her vote will go.
”I fundamentally support Democratic policies, but the presidential and vice presidential candidates seem to be much farther left than what I’d like,” she said, adding that she may end up not voting at all. (……..)”Many of the older Koreans like me, who run a small business, vote for Trump not because we love him as an individual. We’re making the decision based on the Republican party’s economic policies,” said Park Jin-moo, 63, who recently participated in a ”Koreans for Trump” rally held in Los Angeles.
Law enforcement is another issue older Koreans are focusing on.
”We can’t have riots run loose, but a Biden administration will likely lead to weaker law enforcement, which in turn leaves small business vulnerable to looting,” said Park.
Korea Times
You can read more at the link, but I can definitely understand why a Korean-American with a small business would vote for Trump considering how many of them have had their businesses destroyed or impacted negatively by recent policies from their local governments.