Yoo Seung-min Makes Bold Move, Announces Competitive Pledges for Northern Gyeonggi... Uncertainty Over Distinctiveness

More Interest in Whether She Can Escape the 'Traitor' Frame and Make a Winning Move
Limitations Also Revealed in Poll Ratings Rising but Still Behind Rep. Kim Eun-hye

Yoo Seung-min, the People Power Party's preliminary candidate for Gyeonggi Province governor, visits Uijeongbu Camp Stanley [People Power Party Uijeongbu-eul District Association]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] Yoo Seung-min, a preliminary candidate for governor of Gyeonggi Province from the People Power Party, visited Uijeongbu City on the 13th and announced pledges for the development of northern Gyeonggi.

On the same day, Yoo held a meeting at the People Power Party’s Uijeongbu City branch office with fellow party preliminary candidates for Uijeongbu mayor and provincial and city council members running in this election to review strategies and pledges for winning the election.

Yoo stated, "In the upcoming 5th National Railroad Network Construction Plan, the extension of Subway Line 8 will be included as a main project, and the relocation of the Seoul Dobong Driver’s License Examination Office will be discussed with Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon to proceed with policies that benefit Uijeongbu."

Visiting Camp Stanley in Gosan-dong, he said, “I will work to expedite the return of Camp Stanley, a large-scale US military base, and if I become governor, I will start a comprehensive review of the logistics center development plan based on the many opinions of residents.”

He added, "If I become the head of Gyeonggi Province, the largest metropolitan local government in Korea, I will make great efforts to revive the Gyeonggi economy and significantly improve the quality of life for residents," concluding the meeting.

However, contrary to expectations, the pledges presented by Yoo were largely the same as those announced by other candidates from both ruling and opposition parties, failing to offer differentiated policies and merely reciting textbook-level content.

Some local party members and citizens who attended the meeting said, "There were no notable pledges reflecting the characteristics of northern Gyeonggi," and "Much of it was already discussed locally, so how the policies will be implemented is more important," withholding further comments.

Rather, attention is more focused on whether Yoo’s bid for governor can break free from the so-called ‘traitor’ frame imposed on him and become a winning move.

Still, it remains uncertain whether Yoo can regain conservative support that turned away from him, not in his hometown Daegu but in Gyeonggi Province.

Furthermore, after fellow party member Kim Eun-hye declared her candidacy for governor of Gyeonggi, Yoo has fallen behind her in opinion polls, showing limits in increasing his support.

According to a poll conducted by Realmeter on the 11th and 12th of this month on 814 adults living in Gyeonggi Province, commissioned by MBN, among candidates from both ruling and opposition parties, Kim Eun-hye led with 27.6%, followed by Kim Dong-yeon, leader of New Wave, at 19.3%, and Yoo Seung-min at 15.9%.

In hypothetical two-way matchups, Kim Dong-yeon had a close race with Kim Eun-hye. In the 'Kim Dong-yeon vs. Yoo Seung-min' scenario, Kim Dong-yeon received 41.2%, Yoo 33.5%.

In the 'Kim Dong-yeon vs. Kim Eun-hye' matchup, Kim Dong-yeon had 41.4% and Kim Eun-hye 43.2%, with Kim leading by 1.8 percentage points within the margin of error. Undecided voters accounted for 15.3%. (For details, refer to the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website.)

Moreover, although he seemed to have chosen to compete in Gyeonggi Province, which has emerged as a major battleground along with Seoul after his defeat in the last presidential primary and contemplation of retirement from politics, his position appears to have weakened as former and current People Power Party politicians in Gyeonggi, including former National Assembly Deputy Speaker Shim Jae-chul who recently withdrew from the gubernatorial race, have declared support for Kim Eun-hye.

In particular, conservative voters view unfavorably Yoo’s message shift from claiming he would "definitely remove the shadow of Lee Jae-myung cast over Gyeonggi Province," despite having no ties to Gyeonggi and having lost his regional base in Daegu, to later stating he would "inherit what Governor Lee Jae-myung did well."

Compared to Kim Eun-hye, who, despite being a first-term lawmaker during the presidential election period, boldly investigated the Daejang-dong Gate and served as spokesperson for the president-elect, Yoo only began supporting the presidential election near the end of the campaign, which is a point of comparison between the two candidates within the party.

Additionally, Yoo has faced criticism for allegedly ‘address fraud’ after recently moving his residence registration to a relative’s house in Seongnam City to run for governor of Gyeonggi Province.

Meanwhile, with the People Power Party’s metropolitan government primary lineup finalized on the 12th, the competition for the party’s nomination for Gyeonggi governor has been narrowed down to a two-way race between Kim Eun-hye and Yoo Seung-min.