The leaders of South Korea's two main parties are intensifying their campaign actvities in Yeongnam, the country's conservative southeastern heartland, with signs of a right-wing regrouping in the runup to the June 3 elections.
Yeongnam, which includes Busan, Ulsan, Daegu and North and South Gyeongsang provinces, has become a key battleground in the local elections and National Assembly by-elections.
The yardstick of success is increasingly seen as whether the ruling Democratic Party of Korea can claim a sweeping victory.
Rep. Jang Dong-hyeok, chair of the main opposition People Power Party, could start to escape his leadership crisis by preventing a ruling party sweep in the Yeongnam region.
For Rep. Jung Chung-rae, chair of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, failure to achieve a landslide victory in the Yeongnam region could put his path to reelection at risk. Jung is widely expected to seek another term as chair of the party at its August convention.
The Democratic Party is growing increasingly nervous about its chances in the Yeongnam region.
"To be honest, we are on high alert, especially in Yeongnam," Rep. Cho Jeong-sik of the Democratic Party said Monday in an interview with liberal-leaning YouTube channel News Factory.
Cho added that "The gap in Yeongnam is narrowing a bit faster than expected," acknowledging that "conservative voters usually regroup toward the end of an election."
"The gap, which had been nearly 10 percentage points or in the double digits, has narrowed to single digits, and the pace of narrowing appears to have accelerated recently."
In the Daegu mayoral race, the People Power Party appears to have regained a narrow lead after trailing in the early stage of the campaign. A poll commissioned by local broadcaster JTBC and conducted May 5 and 6 among 804 voters found People Power Party candidate Choo Kyung-ho at 41 percent and Democratic Party candidate Kim Boo-kyum at 40 percent.
A poll commissioned by local newspaper Kyongnam Shinmun and conducted on May 1 and 2 among 1,000 voters in South Gyeongsang Province showed People Power Party candidate Park Wan-soo at 44.1 percent and Democratic Party candidate Kim Kyung-soo at 41.9 percent in the race for governor.
In Busan, a poll commissioned by Busan MBC broadcaster and conducted May 1 and 2 among 1,013 voters showed Democratic Party candidate Chun Jae-soo at 46.9 percent and People Power Party candidate Park Heong-joon at 40.7 percent.
Rep. Park Sung-hoon, senior spokesperson for the People Power Party, said Monday the party was hoping to use a recovery in support in Yeongnam as a springboard for a nationwide turnaround in the June 3 elections.
"We are concentrating on creating momentum starting from the southeastern part of the country and moving upward," Park said, citing Jang's campaign stops in Yeongnam over the weekend and his planned visit to Ulsan later in the day.
"In particular, the opposition's momentum is rising around Busan and Ulsan, and we will work to sustain that energy."
Park Won-suk, formerly a lawmaker of the now-defunct Unified Progressive Party, said the Democratic Party's push for a special counsel bill that could potentially nullify charges against President Lee Jae Myung was helping to galvanize conservative voters.
"There are many voters in Yeongnam who would like to support the conservative party again once they have some justification to do so. But after Yoon Suk Yeol's insurrection, they could not openly say they supported the People Power Party and had been staying on the sidelines," Park said Monday in a radio interview with local broadcaster CBS.
"This may have given them a reason to rally again, which is a bit of a warning sign for the ruling party."
Park said the race no longer appeared headed for the lopsided victory many had once predicted, adding that both the overall campaign approach and the Democratic Party's strategy in Yeongnam may need to be reassessed.
Jang has resumed public campaign stops across Yeongnam after a brief pause triggered by internal calls for his resignation over a weeklong US trip and backlash over his continued alignment with ousted former President Yoon.
Since May, Jang has visited campaign events in Busan, Daegu and Ulsan, including offices for Busan mayoral candidate Park, Daegu mayoral candidate Choo, Busan Bukgu-A by-election candidate Park Min-shik and by-election candidate Lee Jin-sook, who is running in Dalseong-gun, Daegu.
On Monday, Jang visited the party's Ulsan chapter to present nomination certificates to candidates running in the June 3 local elections.
The Democratic Party's Jung, meanwhile, has also stepped up his outreach to the region, making eight visits to Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province and six to Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province since April 1.
dagyumji@heraldcorp.com
