Green onion outcry: Humble vegetable roils South Korean vote

South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung holding a helmet decorated with green onions during a campaign event for the upcoming parliamentary elections in Yongin on April 6, 2024. Used widely in South Korean cooking including for kimchi, green onions are dominating discussions ahead of the April 10 vote after an apparent gaff by the president sparked online outcry and turned the vegetable into an opposition rallying cry. — AFP

SEOUL: Foreign policy, the economy, or Kim Jong Un’s nukes might be expected to top the agenda ahead of South Korea’s crucial parliamentary election on April 10.

Instead, it’s green onions on the minds of voters and election officials, who have banned the humble allium from polling stations over fears of electoral interference.