[Presidential Barometer Seol Min-sim] Lee and Yoon Relentlessly Head to the Field... 'Choice and Focus'

Each Presidential Candidate Targets Seoul Metropolitan Area, Surprise Provincial Visits Possible... Ruling and Opposition Parties "Will Closely Monitor Public Sentiment During the Holiday"

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] As the Lunar New Year holiday, a turning point that will decide the direction of the presidential election, approaches, the leadership of both ruling and opposition parties is launching a campaign to capture the public sentiment at the dining table. With the TV debate, which was expected to be the biggest battleground, virtually off the table, they are preparing schedules that allow them to gauge public opinion and emphasize policy visions. Given the 'mass movement of public sentiment' despite the Omicron impact, both parties are expected to go all out.

According to political circles on the 28th, Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, will focus on the metropolitan area during this holiday period. As a move to solidify support in Gyeonggi Province, where the race with Yoon Seok-youl of the People Power Party is neck and neck, he plans to complete the previously canceled Gyeonggi-do Maetabus schedule to win over the unsettled public sentiment in Honam.

Lee has already proposed numerous tailored pledges addressing local issues for each of the 31 cities and counties in Gyeonggi Province, his 'home ground,' including the establishment of new routes for the Metropolitan Area Express Railway (GTX). He is expected to devote efforts to consolidating his voter base in the metropolitan area, including Gyeonggi Province, even during the Lunar New Year holiday.

The ruling party leadership is likely to attend schedules with Lee in key local battlegrounds while attending to public sentiment based on their constituencies. They plan to continue discussions on post-holiday activities with a strategy to attract attention through surprise visits during the holiday. Internally, it is known that they will introduce a new strategy of selection and concentration by simplifying Lee's schedule and delivering condensed messages.

Candidate Yoon plans to focus primarily on responding to current issues amid uncertainty over his participation in the TV debate. He is also expected to emphasize schedules in the metropolitan area rather than local regions. Having unveiled a bold national governance plan centered on a 'major overhaul of the Blue House' the day before, he intends to carefully monitor public sentiment during the holiday and prepare follow-up measures accordingly.

However, he may visit one or two local sites with opposition party leaders. The targets are regions where he is relatively weaker compared to Lee. The day before, Yoon sent handwritten letters to 2.3 million households in the Honam region. At the election headquarters level, the official activity schedule of Yoon's spouse, Kim Gun-hee, is also expected to be closely examined. Her new profile has been registered on portal sites, signaling her upcoming appearance. Some speculate that Kim may issue an apology regarding the controversy over the '7-hour phone call transcript.'

Recently, Ahn Cheol-soo of the People’s Party, whose approval ratings have stalled, and Sim Sang-jung of the Justice Party, struggling with low support, are devising strategies to find turning points during the holiday. Each candidate plans to visit local sites, while their leadership will work on countermeasures. They are also expected to amplify opposition to one-on-one debates and focus on strategies to bring the major two-party candidates into multi-party debates to increase their presence.