Light Political Color in Hanam... Kim Sang-ho vs Lee Hyun-jae 'Face-off' [6·1 Local Election Battleground⑥]

Increase in External Population Due to New Town Expansion in Mid-2000s
Only About 1,000 Vote Difference Between Lee Jae-myung and Yoon Seok-youl in Last Presidential Election
Both Candidates Pledged to Solve Traffic Issues

Hanam City in Gyeonggi Province is classified as a battleground district as the influx of outsiders rapidly increases due to the expansion of the new town. In the presidential election last March, the vote difference between the ruling and opposition candidates was only 1,018 votes, showing a tight competition between progressive and conservative voters.

According to the National Election Commission on the 20th, in the upcoming June 1 local elections, Kim Sang-ho of the Democratic Party of Korea and Lee Hyun-jae of the People Power Party will compete for the position of Hanam mayor. Kim is the incumbent mayor, and Lee is a former member of the National Assembly from this area.

Hanam City’s population has rapidly increased due to the new town projects that began in the mid-2000s. The population grew from 137,569 in 2010 to 323,442 in March 2022, more than doubling in 12 years. The influx of young people has increased mainly in large-scale new housing developments such as Misagangbyeon, Wirye, and Gam-il districts. Because of this, political tendencies have become ambiguous. Over the past decade, progressive parties have been strong in local elections, while conservative parties have dominated general elections.

The results of the last presidential election were also not skewed to one side. At that time, Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung received 101,106 votes, and People Power Party candidate Yoon Seok-youl received 100,088 votes, showing a vote difference of 0.49 percentage points. Compared to the average gap in the Gyeonggi region (5.32 percentage points), this area can be called a “neck-and-neck” district.

Lee Hyun-jae, member of the Liberty Korea Party

Recent poll results are also close. According to a poll conducted by Mono Research on June 6-7, commissioned by Kyeongin Ilbo, surveying 500 Hanam citizens aged 18 and over, the support rates for Kim and Lee were 43.0% and 46.4%, respectively, showing a close race within the margin of error (95% confidence level ±4.4 percentage points).

Both candidates emphasized solving Hanam’s biggest issue, traffic problems. A representative from Kim’s campaign said in a phone interview that “Hanam has grown noticeably during the past four years of my term,” and added, “With the driving force that finally opened Line 5, which had been stalled for over 20 years, we will complete the ‘5-subway era’ (Subway Lines 3, 5, 9, Wirye-Sinsa, GTX D).” Lee’s side stated, “Along with completing the 5-subway era, we will make Hanam a center of Hallyu culture by attracting Marvel City, K-pop performance halls, and other K-Star World facilities.”

For detailed information on the poll, please refer to the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission website.