With just four days until Americans go to the polls, the South Korean public is showing little interest in the election and believe whoever becomes president will not make a major difference to their lives.

While vernacular news media is setting aside plenty of column inches to cover the campaign and discuss the implications of a possible change of leadership for Seoul’s powerful and influential ally, for ordinary people in offices, lecture rooms and soju bars around the country, the respective merits of President George W. Bush and Democratic challenger John Kerry are far from their minds.

On popular portal site Naver, one Internet user proposed opening a discussion room on the presidential election. But the idea failed to collect the 10 recommendations required to open an online debate.

``Why should I be interested in the U.S. election?’’ said Lee Mi-hyun, a university student in Seoul majoring in tourism. ``Of course I hate Bush. But I don"t think the outcome will really have any effect on my life.’’

Bush’s term in the White House saw a surge in anti-Americanism here _ first over two schoolgirls accidentally run over by an U.S. military vehicle in 2002 and later over the war in Iraq. Much of the public remains critical of the U.S. administration, especially its handling of the North Korean nuclear crisis, but there have been few impassioned calls for Bush to be dumped as the election nears.

Han Sung-joo, South Korea’s ambassador to the U.S., said Wednesday that whatever the result of the Nov. 2 poll, there will be no major shift in Washington’s policy on North Korea"s nuclear program.

If Bush is reelected, Han expected the U.S. will push for a fourth round of six-party talks on the issue soon after the election. On the other hand, if Kerry wins, the next round of talks is likely to be delayed a few months until the new administration develops its North Korea policy, he told South Korean correspondents in Washington.

Park Ihn-hwi, professor at Ewha Womans University, agreed that there is little difference between the two candidates’ approaches to the North Korea issue but said Kerry might finally take a harder line, contrary to public expectations.

``Kerry will do his best to handle it. However, if he believes he is not getting a response, he may decide to use tougher tools,’’ he said.

On Tuesday, a coalition of pro-North Korean and progressive Korean-American organizations took out a full-page advertisement in a special election section of the New York Times, calling on Americans to vote Bush out of office.

Presented in the form of an open letter, the ad urged Washington to change its policy on North Korea and engage in bilateral talks, an initiative supported by Kerry.

``Many Koreans believe that U.S. foreign policy dealing with the Korean peninsula in the past three years is flawed,’’ it read. ``It is flawed in that it is devoid of consistency, lacks relevant historical perspective, is insensitive to cultural nuances and is based on an arrogant stance, best described as `Might is Right.’’’

rjs@koreatimes.co.kr