Six weeks before the general election that will decide the president to replace the disgraced Yoon Suk Yeol, South Korean society is deeply divided and showing few signs of uniting for the good of the nation behind the incoming administration.

Seoul was a hotbed of political protests in the run-up to the ruling by the Constitutional Court on April 4 upholding Yoon's impeachment for his brief declaration of martial law in December, with days of vast rallies for and against his administration kept apart by a heavy police presence.

Yoon's removal from office and the opening of his trial for insurrection have shifted the debate to his replacement.

Four members of Yoon's conservative People Power Party (PPP) are competing for the nomination as a candidate in the upcoming vote.

They face a similar number of contenders from their liberal rival, the Democratic Party (DP), although their leader, Lee Jae-myung, has already emerged as the DP's front-runner.

Protesters are again expected to be out in force as the June 3 polling date nears, and they seem as split as ever.

"South Korea's political polarization is deep and can be traced to a combination of historical and institutional factors, such as decades of authoritarian rule, rapid democratization and economic changes, as well as attitudes toward North Korea," said Min Seong-jae, a professor of communication and media studies at Pace University in New York.

Polarization 'the worst ever'

"But currently, the level of polarization seems to be the worst ever," he added.

"This is because the existing ideological divides are exacerbated dramatically since the declaration of martial law last December."

While Yoon's actions were initially not well received among his conservative supporters, a vocal base has since coalesced around him, Min told DW, with partisan media ecosystems and regional loyalties "adding to this divide."

However, there are still many hard-line conservatives who support Yoon and who can be seen demonstrating outside the court during his hearings, the most recent of which took place on Monday.

"I think it's because Yoon remains their best shot at holding off the 'progressive' influence," Min said.

"Currently, there isn't a clear alternative on the right to coalesce conservative force around other than Yoon. He is now like a symbol, a conservative bulwark against what they perceive as leftist overreach in education, media and national security and other social issues."

And the more he is attacked, the more Yoon becomes "a hero" in the eyes of hard-line conservatives, Min said, with Yoon's perceived enemies — student protesters, labor unions, feminist groups and liberal academics — precisely the groups many hard-right conservatives fear or dislike.

Lim Eun-jung, a professor of international studies at Kongju National University, agrees that the nation has never appeared more at odds with itself, with economic fears and concerns over the growing threats posed by North Korea.

South Korea beset by left-right divide

"It feels as if the country is already in recession and people are worried about prices and the high cost of housing, which is particularly difficult for young people, while we are divided between left and right on how to approach the North Korean situation," she told DW.

Lim noted that, while Yoon took a firm line on Pyongyang and relations deteriorated to the point that the two sides were not talking, it is likely that a left-leaning government would return to the policies of former President Moon Jae-in and look to build bridges with North Korea.

Another gulf exists in society between the generations, Lim pointed out, with older people who have stable incomes and homes leaning toward conservative policies, and the younger generations being "deeply skeptical" about the nation's future and seeking more support.

Those attitudes are arguably driven by media consumption, she suggested, with older people still reading newspapers and watching television news programs, but younger people relying on social media.

"In many ways, it is similar here to the US," Lim said. "Lots of people are very skeptical about the 'established' media, they don't believe what they are being told, so they go to YouTube for their news," she said.

"The young people I teach do not read or understand long-form texts. There is a whole generation who only look at social media and it is very difficult to get them to look at texts and analyze arguments."

Communications professor Min agrees.

"Social media has become a potent force in intensifying political divides in Korea," he said.

"Platforms like YouTube, KakaoTalk and Facebook host politically charged content that's often algorithmically tailored to users' existing biases.

"In particular, right-wing online communities on social media have created echo chambers where conspiracy theories, ideological memes and decontextualized news clips go viral with little fact-checking," he added.

Older people and young males in their 20s, in particular, "often reside in these echo chambers, only interacting with like-minded people," he added.

Social media spills over into real-world disputes

And the situation becomes even worse because the anonymity and attention-grabbing culture of social media allow people to engage in extreme speech and personal attacks, which spill over into real-world disputes.

Min isn't optimistic that change is likely, or that South Korea's political divide might narrow.

"Unless significant structural and cultural reforms occur, confrontational politics is likely to persist or even deepen," he said.

"The political incentives are misaligned: these politicians and parties are rewarded for rallying their base rather than building bridges. They will likely continue to do so for their own political gains.

"Even among young people, there's a lot of disagreements over social issues — so the next generation isn't necessarily going to fix this anytime soon," he added.

"That makes the future look tense and divided — not quite 'grim,' but definitely rocky." 

Edited by: Keith Walker