[Politics X-File] Voters' Spoon Count Also in Mind... The Legendary District Manager

22. Politicians Known as the Bible of Constituency Management
Lee Jae-oh, Kim Moon-soo, Woo Sang-ho Are Representative Examples
Common Traits of Multi-term Lawmakers in Challenging Districts

Editor's Note‘Political X-Files’ is a series that delivers the ‘all-time stories’ recorded in the election results and incidents of Korean politics.

"Your second son is getting married next week, right? You must be happy. I heard the weather will be nice that day." "I heard your daughter, who has always been good at studying, got accepted into university. That's really impressive." "How are your legs these days? Did your knee improve after the surgery last time?"

Politicians skilled in managing their constituencies even know the family affairs of their voters. It’s not a relationship that can be formed just by wearing a neat suit, handing out business cards, and shaking hands once. It requires countless hours of running around day and night, and such time must accumulate over a long period to become possible.

This is a scene hard to imagine for politicians who take politics lightly. Although politicians who focus on promoting themselves through social networking services (SNS) or YouTube have become the trend after the development of new media, the basics of constituency management still rely on the sweat of one’s feet.

Lee Jae-oh, an advisor for the People Power Party, is talking about his writing, walking, and political career in his office near Gwanghwamun, Seoul. Photo by Heo Younghan younghan@

There are legendary masters of constituency management passed down in both ruling and opposition parties. Legends say they even know how many spoons are in a voter's household in a certain alley...

Each constituency has around 200,000 voters, so how is that possible? Of course, it’s impossible to know every family’s affairs. But if a politician repeatedly walks through alleys, talks with people, and listens to their stories, they can naturally become such a politician.

The common trait of politicians who are diligent in constituency management is their industriousness. Without being quite diligent, it’s impossible to even attempt it. The concept of a daily working hour is vague. From the moment they open their eyes until they fall asleep, they are breathing with their voters.

They have to attend various meetings as key party officials, keep track of plenary sessions and standing committee meetings in the National Assembly, living a life where 24 hours are never enough. Sleep is severely lacking, and schedules pile up like mountains every day.

Contrary to what the public thinks, being a member of the National Assembly is not a leisurely job of playing with power. When others are working, they must fulfill their roles regarding national issues, engage in policy development, and participate in parliamentary politics. When others want to rest, they must meet their constituents, listen to them, communicate, and stay connected.

Times when ordinary people are sound asleep, weekends, and holidays are not rest times for them but additional working hours when necessary tasks must be done.

Who are the legendary masters of constituency management in Yeouido’s political circles? They are those with little or no chance of running in the 2024 22nd general election. Rather than having given up on politics, they are taking on other roles or exploring new political arenas.

Kim Moon-soo, Chairman of the Economic, Social and Labor Council, is being interviewed on January 30 at the Economic, Social and Labor Council in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Representative figures include Lee Jae-oh, Senior Advisor of the People Power Party; Kim Moon-soo, Chairman of the Economic, Social and Labor Council; and Woo Sang-ho, a member of the Democratic Party. Their commonality is that they grew as multi-term lawmakers in so-called ‘unfavorable’ constituencies.

Their accumulation of experience is on a different level from the kind of experience where just placing a stick guarantees election in a constituency.

Senior Advisor Lee Jae-oh is a five-term National Assembly member from Eunpyeong, Seoul, a stronghold of the Democratic Party. He was a heavyweight who was even called the second most powerful figure during the Lee Myung-bak administration, but what he is famous for in Yeouido’s political circles is his diligence.

He toured his constituency tirelessly regardless of bad weather or late hours. A heavyweight politician who roamed every corner of his constituency by bicycle. Local bathhouses and barbershops are his regular stops. Voters naturally open their hearts when they see a high-ranking figure they’ve seen on TV mingling casually with them.

Politician Lee Jae-oh thus grew into a five-term National Assembly member in Eunpyeong-gu. In the 2012 19th general election, he ran in Seoul Eunpyeong-e and was elected with 49.5% of the vote. The highlight of that election was that Cheon Ho-seon, the Unified Progressive Party candidate, scored 48.4% against the formidable Lee Jae-oh.

The fact that the losing candidate attracted more attention than the winner meant that Lee Jae-oh’s barrier was that high. Politician Lee Jae-oh has kept a distance from running since 2017 but continues to play the role of a political elder in various media.

Woo Sang-ho, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

As famous as Lee Jae-oh for constituency management is Kim Moon-soo, Chairman of the Economic, Social and Labor Council. He was well known for roaming his constituency and meeting voters repeatedly. Politician Kim Moon-soo built an impregnable support base in Bucheon Sosa (now Bucheon City Byeong constituency), considered a tough area for conservative parties.

In the 2000 16th general election, three out of four Bucheon constituencies were won by the Millennium Democratic Party. However, Kim Moon-soo won Bucheon Sosa with an overwhelming 61.6% of the vote for the Grand National Party. He had the highest vote share among Bucheon candidates.

Bucheon Sosa was a mountain the Democratic Party could not easily overcome while Kim Moon-soo was active, but after he stopped running, it became a stronghold of the Democratic Party.

On the Democratic Party side, Woo Sang-ho’s constituency management is famous. Still an incumbent, Woo Sang-ho is a representative figure who maintains close contact with voters based on his long experience in constituency management. This was the background for his four-term success in Seoul Seodaemun, a tough district for the Democratic Party.

The legendary politicians who even have the number of spoons in voters’ households in their minds all have over 20 years of political experience. Due to changes in the times, voters move more frequently, so fewer people live in the same neighborhood for 30 or 40 years. Even if politicians build ties with voters, many move to different areas by the next general election.

It is also worth noting that there are quite a few politicians who take politics too lightly. As more people believe they can win the next election just by skillfully using image politics, politicians who reduce their sleep to devote themselves to constituency management will likely become a minority.