Once the playground of young Internet users in their 20s, social networking services are increasingly being utilized by political parties as effective tools for political campaigning.

A slew of social network pages and postings popped up during this election campaign, spicing up the tense race with satire, jokes and feverish appeals for political participation.

The SNS strategy of the Saenuri Party is characterized by the acronym PARK, which stands for “Patriotism-Accept-Rule-Kindly.”

“Our strategy is to emphasize the patriotism and the commitment to serve the people (of Park),” said Lee Hak-man, who heads the party’s SNS response team.

Regarding “accept” and “rule,” Lee said that “we are emphasizing how Park partially accepted some of the political reform plans advocated by former independent candidate Ahn Cheol-soo and therefore how she was receptive to the will of the people. Also, her steadfastness and commitment to carry out her pledges that were on display when she stuck to the original plans regarding Sejong City.”

The Democratic United Party has also actively utilized SNS to promote its candidate Moon Jae-in. The DUP operates an online video streaming service called “Moon Jae-in TV” that broadcasts live video of Moon’s campaign appearances and speeches through online video sharing service Afreeca TV.

A DUP spokesman estimates the number of Internet users concurrently watching the live coverage of Moon’s campaign appearances to be around 40,000, while that of Park is around 150. Moon also leads in the number of Twitter followers, with over 300,000 followers, compared to Park’s 240,000.

But Park leads in the number of times her name has come up in Twitter feeds. According to one study, Park’s name appeared more than 350,000 times on Twitter posts during the second week of December, while the number for Moon was 275,000.

SNS is being increasingly taken up by older users, such as those in their 40s, whose political orientation tends to be conservative.

A study undertaken by the Korea Press Foundation in October found that people in their 20s were the age group most likely to use SNS at 71.4 percent. But people in their 40s and 50s were also increasingly using SNS, with 43.2 percent and 34.0 percent of each age group using SNS.

SNS has been feted as a tool for expanded political participation by freeing political campaigns from the constraints of time and location. They also allow voters to become unofficial campaign staff by posting campaign advertisements and related news on their Facebook pages or Twitter accounts.

But the increased use of SNS by political campaigns also offers more opportunities to engage in smear campaigns.

“SNS is a fitting tool for smear campaigns,” said Shin Yul, a professor in politics and international relations at Myongji University. “Sensitive issues can quickly spread before the truth can be established.”

In addition, the preferences for short, image-driven content may fundamentally limit the depth and quality of campaign literature that can be shared.

“The content exchanged on SNS tends to be short pieces or laced with emotion,” said Yoon Heui-woong, who conducts research and analysis for Korea Society Opinion Institute, a research organization specializing in the study of public opinion. “As a result, instead of conveying campaign pledges made by the candidates or increasing the understanding of their policies, (SNS) can be used as a tool for smear campaigns between the candidates.”

There are also many videos and posters encouraging viewers to exercise their right to vote. In early December, a YouTube user in Spain with the id PlanBideo uploaded a video titled “a 24-hour trip to vote,” recording the journey by plane, subway, and bus from Barcelona to Madrid, located over 500 km away, to cast an absentee ballot at the South Korean Embassy.

“Whether it takes 24 hours or 24 minutes, it is the same valuable vote,” the user wrote in the explanation accompanying the video. “I know that my vote will not be able to change the world, but I believe that our votes can change the world. It is now time for you to go on your own trip to vote.” The video has gathered over 38,000 views. Internet users shared the link to the video on Facebook and other SNS.

Several ingenious user-made posters encouraging voting have also been made popular on the Web. One poster shows an anime character posing inside a circle, forming the Chinese character symbolizing the voting stamp. Another poster shows the English word “Change” being transformed step-by-step into the shape of the voting stamp.

By Samuel Songhoon lee (songhoon@heraldcorp.com)