Green onion outcry: humble vegetable roils S. Korean vote

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 o...

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 Wednesday.

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.

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.

It all started March 18, when President Yoon Suk Yeol -- whose party is trying to win back control of the 300-seat parliament -- visited a grocery store in the capital Seoul, officially to check consumer prices, with food inflation a key concern ahead of the polls.

Looking at a bunch of green onions, Yoon said: "I've been to many markets and 875 won ($0.65) for this is a reasonable price."