Regionalist Voting Behavior in Administrative Border Areas: Focusing on the Yeongnam-Honam border area

Abstract

This paper examines the regionalist voting behavior in the geographically adjacent Yeongnam-Honam border area, although the administrative districts at the metropolitan level are different. More specifically, this study aims to empirically verify the regionalist voting relaxation phenomenon in the Yeongnam-Honam border area, where emotional communication is possible through daily life sharing and various friendly exchanges. To do so, collective data are examined with counting data for each voting district for presidential and general elections held in Korea since 2000, and voter support patterns of regional dominant parties in the region are analyzed. As a result of the analysis of the collective data, First of all, it was possible to verify the regionalist voting relaxation phenomenon withdrawing from support for regional dominant parties in 15 of the 26 Eups and Myeons as the subject of analysis of the Yeongnam-Honam border area belonging to 9 Sis and Guns. Through this, it was validated that “Honam in Yeongnam, Yeongnam in Honam” actually exists. However, it was analyzed that this regionallist voting relaxation phenomenon did not affect between neighboring Eups and Myeons. Second of all, it was confirmed that the possibility that various friendly affairs and geographical or topographical influences could affect regionalist voting behavior. The intensity of relaxation phenomenon was strong in which exchanges such as sisterhood relationships and friendly activities between neighboring Eups and Myeons were held, or in areas without topographical obstacles such as mountains and rivers.