[Deputy Director's Column] Incheon Voter Sentiment = Nationwide Public Opinion

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Incheon is called the 'barometer of national elections.' This is because the voting trends in Incheon almost always align with the results of major elections such as general and presidential elections. In the 19th presidential election, when Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party of Korea and Hong Joon-pyo of the Grand National Party received 41.1% and 24.0% of the votes nationwide respectively, their vote shares in Incheon were 41.2% and 20.9%. In the 18th presidential election, Park Geun-hye of the Saenuri Party and Moon Jae-in of the Democratic United Party received 51.6% and 48.0% nationwide, and remarkably, Incheon's voting rates matched these figures closely.

In the 21st general election, summarized by the Democratic Party's landslide victory and the United Future Party's crushing defeat, Incheon once again clearly demonstrated that it is a microcosm of national elections. The Democratic Party won in 11 out of 13 constituencies in Incheon. This is a tremendous change compared to the 19th and 20th general elections, when the Democratic Party and the United Future Party each split the seats about half and half.

Due to the region's characteristics?low proportion of natives and a well-distributed population from all over the country?it is not easy for any particular party to achieve a landslide victory in Incheon. Nevertheless, the Democratic Party's clean sweep in this election once again proved that Incheon's voting trends are a weather vane for national sentiment.

Park Hyung-joon, co-chairman of the United Future Party's joint election committee, appeared on a broadcast and said, "Incheon is a region where the vote is not skewed to one side. We could have gained 4 to 5 more seats, but we lost them due to nomination failures." This likely reflects the central party's failure to properly read the brutally accurate public sentiment in Incheon.

In Incheon's political circles, Yeonsu Gap and Yeonsu Eul are cited as representative constituencies where the United Future Party failed in nominations. Coincidentally, in both constituencies, the United Future Party candidates faced nomination controversies and difficulties due to offensive remarks. In Yeonsu Gap, the party reversed the nomination of Kim Jin-yong, former head of the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority, who had won the primary, and instead nominated Jeong Seung-yeon, who had low approval ratings. This seemed like a misstep from the start, and during the campaign, Jeong's remark calling Incheon a 'backwater village' dug his own political grave.

Yeonsu Eul was even more remarkable. The central party repeatedly nominated and then revoked the nomination of Min Kyung-wook, leading to ridicule as a 'hotteok nomination' (a term implying flip-flopping). Moreover, Min is known for his harsh language not only against opposition parties but also the president, earning him and fellow party member Kim Jin-tae the nickname 'icons of offensive remarks.' So much so that near the end of the election, even voters who supported Justice Party candidate Lee Jeong-mi urged others to vote for the Democratic Party candidate to defeat Min.

In this general election, politicians with a highly unfavorable image due to offensive remarks were consecutively defeated. One netizen commented on a related article, "Thinking that we won't see these people in the National Assembly anymore makes this morning so refreshing." It seems that thorough self-reflection by the politicians who created this bittersweet situation is necessary.