[ELECTION 2016] Parties battle for Gyeonggi voters

YONGIN, Gyeonggi Province -- Having been born and raised in Seoul’s most affluent district of Gangnam-gu until the age of 17, Heo Seong-wook moved to the district of Suji in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, in 2006 with his family.

Explaining the move was to continue enjoying the Gangnam lifestyle until they saved enough to move back to the right-wing bedrock in southern Seoul, the 27-year-old graduate student was not hesitant to express his family’s conservative political disposition.

“Our family thinks of ourselves as still living in Seoul,” Heo told The Korea Herald. “Thus, the way we vote is pretty much the same as the way we vote when living in Gangnam. Though I haven’t decided yet, my parents and grandmother are leaning toward the conservative party.” he said.

It is easy to find more voters like Heo’s family in Yongin, home to some 980,000 residents, 60 percent of them comprised of senior citizens spending their retirement and young couples commuting to work by subway -- a 40-minute ride to downtown Seoul.

Saenuri Party’s candidate for Yongin Lee Sang-il shows his jacket lined with messages from supporters during his campaign on April 2. (Yonhap)

Such demographic breakdown and geographical proximity has made Yongin and nearby city Suwon serve as a litmus to predict the outcome of elections in the Seoul metropolitan area, the biggest battleground region where 122 seats are up for grabs out of the 253 constituencies elected via direct vote in constituencies.

In the past parliamentary polls, the election results in Yongin and Suwon have been similar to those of the Seoul metropolitan areas.

In the 2004 and 2008 general elections, the political parties winning the parliamentary majority were the ones that won the most seats in the two cities. Liberal parties claimed the majority of seats in the National Assembly.

In the latest 2012 general election, liberal opposition parties lost the parliamentary majority to the ruling Saenuri, but won the majority of seats in Seoul metropolitan areas. Coincidentally, the cities also gave the majority of votes to liberal candidates, by electing four from the liberal parties, out of seven constituencies.

The Minjoo Party’s chief Kim Chong-in supports the party’s Yongin-gu candidate Pyo Chang-won (left) during a campaign on Monday. (Yonhap)

With the conservative Saenuri Party and the main opposition The Minjoo Party of Korea now competing neck-and-neck in the Seoul metropolitan areas, the closely fought race has also been playing out in these swing cites.

Among those closely watched races is that held in the Yongin D district. The new constituency pits Rep. Lee Sang-il, who had served as a spokesman during the presidential campaign for then-candidate President Park Geun-hye, against Pyo Chang-won, a former criminology professor popular with young voters.

The opinion polls show different results according to pollsters. A survey conducted by national newspaper Hankookilbo showed that Pyo enjoyed a lead over Lee, with 36.9 to 29.4 percent, while local newspaper Kyeongyilbo showed that Lee held the lead over Pyo at 39.2 to 32.8 percent.

“We will bring justice to North Korea dictator Kim Jung-un” said Pyo, also a former police officer, at a rally to support Rep. Baek Kun-ki. Baek was wearing a battle dress uniform for the Special Warfare Command. The former four-star general served as the commander of the SWC. He is running for election to represent the Yongin A constituency. 

Pyo Chang-won and Rep. Baek Kun-ki give speech to their supporters at Cheoin-gu, Yongin. Yeo Jun-suk/The Korea Herald

“I think our party is more up to the task than the Saenuri Party because most of their party members have never served military service,” the former policeman and general said, giving a salute to the audience that ranged from the elderly to young people.

The audience response to the 30-minute speech was mixed. Younger voters, such as 35-year-old Kim Jin-ah described Pyo as a trustworthy law enforcement officer, while elder attendees, such as 58-year-old Kim Sung-hwan, dismissed Pyo as a typical liberal-minded politician using fancy rhetoric.

But Kim, who has spent his entire life in Yongin, noted that he would cast his ballots for Baek Kun-ki in the direct voting from the constituencies, while choosing the conservative Saenuri Party for the seats elected through proportional representation.

“I like his soldierly manners, disciplined attitude and the way we contributed to our constituencies,” the Yongin native told The Korea Herald. “Though I have voted for the conservative parties throughout my life, this time around I’d like to give Baek a chance to win the elections.” he said.

By Yeo Jun-suk (jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)