Korean Americans are abandoning Vice President Kamala Harris and the Democrats over concerns regarding inflation and the economy, according to several reports.
A 2024 Asian American Voter Survey from July found that 38 percent of Korean Americans in the United States identified as being Democrat, while 25 percent identified as being Republican. This represented a decrease from the 2020 Asian American Voter Survey, which found that 51 percent of Korean Americans identified with the Democratic Party.
The survey also found that, among Korean Americans, 57 percent expressed that the issue of jobs and the economy were “extremely important” when deciding how to vote, 33 percent said they were “very important” issues, and nine percent described them as being “somewhat important.”
Fifty-eight percent of Korean Americans also expressed that the issue of inflation was important when deciding how they would vote, while 32 percent described inflation as being a “very important issue.” Eight percent of Korean Americans described the issue of inflation as being “somewhat important.”
Korean Americans also expressed that the cost of housing was an important issue when voting, with 51 percent labeling it as “extremely important,” 35 percent labeling it as “very important,” and ten percent describing it as “somewhat important.” Three percent said it was “not that important.”
Another poll, conducted between September 3-9, 2024, by “NORC at the University of Chicago,” found in April/May, 27 percent of Korean Americans expressed support for Trump, while 35 percent expressed support for Trump in September.
The poll also found that in April/May, 49 percent of Korean Americans expressed support for President Joe Biden, who dropped out of the presidential race in July, while 62 percent expressed support for Kamala Harris in September.
Lee Sung Yong, a Korean barbecue restaurant owner in Georgia told Politico that prices had “risen so much,” and added that he would “be voting for Trump” in the upcoming election.
“The price of ingredients has just risen so much — almost 80 percent for certain items,” Yong told the outlet.
Yong added that he was “disappointed with the economy under Biden,” and admitted while he was unfamiliar with “Harris’ economic policies,” he questioned whether they would be the same as Biden’s.
The loss of Korean Americans’ support for the Democrats has the potential to affect the election states with large Korean American communities, such as Georgia, according to the outlet.
Politico reports that while the Korean American community in Georgia leans more towards the Democratic Party, the community is “marked by its relative newness,” and as a result, many Korean Americans have not “established party loyalty”:
The best way to under the Korean American vote in Georgia and its large percentage of independent voters — despite the conventional knowledge that Asian Americans skew Democratic — is to recognize the history of the community. It’s marked by it’s relative newness: Korean immigrants started to move to Gwinnett County en masse around the late 1980s and early ’90s. A large portion of the population still consists of first-generation immigrants with limited English proficiency and deep ties to their home country. There isn’t much of a culture of robust civic participation, let alone established party loyalty.
Several Korean American employees and business owners explained to the outlet that the economy is an important issue, noting that their “sales have dropped,” and they’ve had “fewer customers” than before.
While several Korean Americans expressed concerns over the economy, prices increasing, and sales decreasing, one person, Clara Lee told the outlet that “Trump’s rhetoric against immigrants” is a reason she will not be voting for him.
“When Trump was in power, hidden racists were given the opportunity to start revealing themselves,” Lee told the outlet. “So I started thinking there can never be a candidate like him again, especially since I’m a minority.”