| Summary/Abstract |
This article explores the role that political ideology played in shaping the outcome of the 2012 presidential election in South Korea. It conceptualizes political ideology as two-dimensional and utilizes cluster analysis to identify distinct ideological groups. By analyzing two sets of survey data collected in 2012, it discovers four ideological groups. A striking result uncovered by the cluster analysis is the change in party identification and voting in favor of the conservative party made by one group in particular—a change that proved to be the competitive edge the conservative party candidate needed to win the fiercely competitive two-way election. In other words, this group served as the fluid middle.
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