Gangwon Province Governor, The Great Comeback of Personality Lee Kwang-jae vs Regime Change of Wind-Riding Kim Jin-tae [June 1 Local Election Battleground ④]

Gangwon Province Governor Election, Key Battleground for Ruling and Opposition Parties in Local Elections
Democratic Party with 3 Consecutive Terms vs People Power Party Riding Presidential Victory Momentum
Lee Kwang-jae, Who Pushed the Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province Act, Expected to Make a Dramatic Comeback
Kim Jin-tae Advocates Government Stability Under Yoon Seok-yeol Administration for Regime Change

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] In the June 1 local elections, Gangwon Province is the only metropolitan local government where both ruling and opposition parties are fighting fiercely, excluding the Seoul metropolitan area. The overall local election landscape could change depending on the outcome of the showdown between Lee Kwang-jae, the Democratic Party candidate running for Gangwon Province governor, and Kim Jin-tae, the People Power Party candidate. Recent polls show Lee, who emphasizes his personal qualifications, closing the gap with Kim, who stresses government stability.

Candidates for the 8th Nationwide Local Elections for Governor of Gangwon Province: Lee Kwang-jun (left) of the Democratic Party of Korea and Kim Jin-tae of the People Power Party.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 18th, the political world is paying close attention to the Gangwon Province election results, which are just two weeks away. In the general elections, the People Power Party (including reinstated independents) led (winning all 9 seats in the 19th general election, 7 out of 8 seats in the 20th, and 5 out of 8 seats in the 21st), but in the gubernatorial elections, the Democratic Party’s Choi Moon-soon, the current governor, succeeded in winning a third term. In the 2018 local elections, Governor Choi won by a landslide with 64.7%, but in the 2022 presidential election, President Yoon Seok-youl won with 54.2%, showing different trends in each election.

The Gangwon gubernatorial election typically sees the opposition party strong in Wonju, the ruling party strong in Gangneung, and the remaining areas like Chuncheon deciding the vote. Because of this, Lee set up his campaign office in Chuncheon, while Kim established his in Wonju. Locals refer to this as starting election campaigns in ‘hostile territory.’

In a recent poll (conducted by Media Tomato on the 13th-14th, surveying 809 men and women aged 18 and over in Gangwon Province), Kim’s support rate was 48.1%, ahead of Lee’s 40.1%.

Lee is emphasizing his personal qualifications as a prominent potential leader of the opposition. Despite unfavorable conditions for the opposition, he made a decisive move by demanding the Democratic Party pass the ‘Gangwon Special Autonomous Province Act.’ Due to his strong demands, the Democratic Party pushed the related legislation forward, recently passing the standing committee hurdle. Lee’s camp is aiming for a turnaround based on his personal appeal and achievements such as promoting the Gangwon Special Autonomous Province Act.

Jeon Sang-heon, Lee’s general headquarters chief, told Asia Economy in a phone interview, "There is still time for a comeback until the election ends," adding, "Even though the party support rate is significantly lower, the small gap in candidate support rates is thanks to personal appeal." He said, "If the Gangwon Special Autonomous Province Act passes the plenary session, there will be many tasks to do, and we expect residents to judge who can carry out those tasks."

Kim said in a written interview, "The government has only been launched for two weeks," and asked, "Please help the Yoon Seok-youl government work for Gangwon Province and South Korea." He emphasized, "South Korea achieved a regime change after five years, and now it is time to change Gangwon Province as well."