Lee Jae-myung Visits Hometown
Yoon Seok-yeol Focuses on Security
Ruling and Opposition Candidates Strive to Win Public Support on Lunar New Year Day
[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] On the first day of the Lunar New Year, presidential candidates Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party and Yoon Seok-youl of the People Power Party visited Andong, Gyeongbuk, and Ganghwa-gun, Incheon, respectively.
On the first day of the new year, candidate Lee emphasized his strengths as a Democratic Party candidate from the TK (Daegu·Gyeongbuk) region, while candidate Yoon highlighted the escalating security threats to rally conservative supporters.
On the morning of the day, candidate Lee visited his hometown Andong, Gyeongbuk, where he paid respects at his parents' graves with his wife Kim Hye-kyung, then visited the Gyeongju Yi clan Jejeonggong branch meeting to exchange well-wishes with the attendees. Lee said, "I will strive to overcome national crises and achieve national unity with the spirit of our ancestors' Hwabek meetings."
In the guestbook, Lee wrote, "I will do my best to make the Gyeongju Yi clan proud." Afterwards, he moved to Imcheonggak and announced seven major pledges for the development of Gyeongbuk, including the relocation of the Korea Military Academy to Andong and fostering the future-oriented eco-friendly automobile parts industry.
Candidate Yoon Seok-youl visited the Ganghwa Peace Observatory located at the northernmost part of Ganghwa-gun, Incheon. This visit was interpreted as a 'security move' to rally conservative supporters by emphasizing the heightened security threats following North Korea's recent mid-range ballistic missile launches.
Yoon emphasized that if elected, the new government would pursue peaceful unification and shared prosperity through normalized inter-Korean relations.
In response to the seven missile provocations since the start of the new year, he stated, "We will establish a multi-layered missile defense system, including THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense), to firmly protect the safety of the people from North Korea's nuclear missile threats, covering the Seoul metropolitan area and northern Gyeonggi Province."
Yoon said, "This year, I will do my best to achieve the regime change you all desire and make Korea a better place to live and Ganghwa a wonderful place."
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