[On-site in] "The early voting controversy is nonsense... I just hope whoever wins can help us make a living."

7th Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party 'Busan Focused Rally' Site
2.92 Million Voters in Busan "Still Undecided" Many Citizens

[Busan = Reporter Gu Chae-eun] “Wow, are you really putting in a ballot with Lee Jae-myung marked on it? Doing things like that repeatedly makes it impossible for the people to vote for the ruling party.”

On the afternoon of the 7th near Yongdusan Park in Busan, a merchant named Park (55) showed a YouTube video addressing the Central Election Commission’s mishandling of voting management for confirmed COVID-19 patients and said this. Park, who has not yet decided on a candidate to vote for, also expressed reluctance toward candidate Yoon by shaking his hand dismissively. He said, “I don’t like how they keep pushing the idea of regime change; I’m not sure. Busan won’t come out with a unanimous vote like the Honam people.” Park, a ‘Busan native’ who has run a small business in the area for a long time, added, “Business is really bad. Whoever wins, I just hope they let us make a living.”

Two days before the presidential election, the voters’ sentiments of citizens met by this paper in Busan were divided. Busan has the third-largest voter population (2,920,041 people; 6.6%) after Gyeonggi (11,428,857; 25.9%) and Seoul (8,336,646; 18.9%). Although the People Power Party has strong support, Busan is also the hometown of Presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Moon Jae-in and was a region that led the Bu-Ma Democratic Protests before the merger of the three parties. In the 2018 local elections, the city elected former Mayor Oh Keo-don. Yet, in last year’s April 7 Busan mayoral by-election, Park Hyung-joon of the People Power Party won a landslide victory with over 60% of the vote. Ahn Cheol-soo, the People’s Party candidate who unexpectedly unified the opposition on the 3rd, is also from Busan.

Although President Moon Jae-in built his ‘political assets’ here, citizens met in Busan did not hide their cold feelings toward the current government. Many also voiced strong criticism regarding the Central Election Commission’s poor management of early voting for confirmed patients, which became controversial the previous day. A citizen met on Gwangbok-ro 67beon-gil in Busan said, “You can’t manage voting like that. The president even met with Kim Jong-un, but what has come of it? Look at the Ukraine situation. If a country is strong, others will approach it. There’s no chance otherwise. The government hasn’t done anything right, so we need to change the regime at least once.”

Park (58), met in the Samjigol Alley on Gwangbok-ro in Busan, said, “Since the Oh Keo-don mayor incident, the Democratic Party’s public sentiment in Busan has been bad. When the top two cities nationwide are like that, many people are disappointed.” Jeong (66), who has driven a taxi in Busan for 30 years, said, “I also have a sister-in-law, but who talks to their sister-in-law like that? When I listen to customers, they all say they support Yoon Seok-yeol.” He added, “After President Kim Young-sam’s merger of the three parties, Busan’s identity became somewhat ambiguous, but since it’s Gyeongsang Province, support for the People Power Party is still stronger.”

There were also quite a few people who expressed disappointment in Ahn Cheol-soo, a candidate from Busan. Sung (47), met in front of ABC Mart on Gwangbok Jungang-ro, said, “Ahn Cheol-soo is really done for. If he had completed the race, I would have voted for him next time even if he lost this time, but I’m disappointed.” He added, “I also don’t like how he goes around calling himself the ‘son-in-law of Jeolla Province.’” He frowned and said, “If it had been done a week ago, maybe, but doing it so suddenly like that?what do you expect? Do you think the people are fools?”

Those supporting candidate Lee said that Busan’s public sentiment is changing. Especially, citizens met at Changseon Samgeori, where Lee held a field campaign that day, voiced favorable opinions about him. Kim (66), met in front of Evadon Katsu at Changseon Samgeori, said, “In the past, just putting a stick in was enough for the Grand National Party, but not anymore. PK (Busan and Gyeongnam) and TK (Daegu and Gyeongbuk) are a bit different. Now, the support ratio between the Democratic Party and the People Power Party is about 4:6.” Jang (50), met in front of the Changseon Police Substation on Gwangbok Jungang-ro, was asked about the presidential election sentiment in the area and said, “I really like Lee Jae-myung. Even after 10 years, the Busan Savings Bank scandal is still vivid, so I don’t like Yoon Seok-yeol.”

Meanwhile, the early voting rate for this presidential election in Busan was also recorded at 34.25%, setting a new record high. Out of 2,921,510 eligible voters, 1,000,499 had cast their votes. This surpasses the 23.19% in the 19th presidential election in 2017 and the 25.52% in the 21st general election in 2020. By district, Dong-gu had the highest rate at 38.23%, followed by Geumjeong-gu at 37.13%, and Seo-gu at 37.11%. The district with the lowest early voting rate was Gijang-gun at 28.57%, the only one among Busan’s 16 districts and counties to have a turnout in the 20% range.