[General Election Battleground] Yangsan with 'Munsajeo' Decides Gyeongnam Election Outcome

⑤ Gyeongnam·Ulsan - Gyeongnam Yangsan-si Eul, Ulsan Buk-gu
Kim Du-kwan's Yangsan Eul, Ruling Party Tailored Candidate Consideration
Ulsan Buk-gu, Ruling and Opposition Former and Incumbent Lawmakers' Candidacy Movements

Editor's NoteThe 22nd general election on April 10 next year is just over six months away. We explore the electoral landscape by visiting key battlegrounds across the country to gauge the district-level outlook. We analyze the nation region by region, focusing on areas where the ruling and opposition parties had close contests, where major candidates are running, or where internal party competition is fierce.

Gyeongsangnam-do is a region allocated 16 National Assembly seats (based on the 21st general election), nearly rivaling Busan Metropolitan City’s 18 seats.

Gyeongnam has traditionally been a stronghold for conservative parties, but close contests between the ruling and opposition parties took place in Changwon, Gimhae, and Yangsan. In Ulsan, which has six seats, Buk-gu, where labor unions have strong influence, has emerged as a battleground in every general election. The 22nd general election next April is expected to follow a similar pattern.

Kim Du-gwan, member of the Democratic Party of Korea./Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

A district attracting attention in the upcoming general election is Yangsan in Gyeongnam, where former President Moon Jae-in’s residence is located. Gimhae in Gyeongnam, home to former President Roh Moo-hyun’s residence, has become a stronghold for the Democratic Party of Korea, but the trend in Yangsan remains a point of interest.

The area drawing attention in Yeouido’s political circles is Yangsan-eu (Yangsan B district) within Yangsan. Kim Du-kwan, a Democratic Party member and former governor of Gyeongnam Province, won this district in the last general election. Democratic candidate Kim Du-kwan secured 48.9% of the vote, defeating Na Dong-yeon of the United Future Party, who received 47.3%.

Although Yangsan in Gyeongnam is where former President Moon Jae-in’s residence is located, when subdivided by electoral districts, it falls under Yangsan-gap (Yangsan A district), not Yangsan-eu. Pyeongsan Village in Jisan-ri, Habuk-myeon, Yangsan is the constituency of Yoon Young-seok, a member of the People Power Party.

Yangsan-eu is expected to be a fiercely contested district between the ruling and opposition parties. The Democratic Party is likely to field incumbent Kim Du-kwan for re-election. Na Dong-yeon, a former mayor of Yangsan, challenged Kim Du-kwan in the 2020 general election but was defeated; he was re-elected as Yangsan mayor in the 2022 local elections.

Given that he is the current mayor of Yangsan, it is difficult for Na Dong-yeon to run as the People Power Party candidate in the 2024 general election. He would have to resign from the mayoral office before completing even two years of his term to open the door for a general election bid, which is a politically burdensome choice.

There is keen interest in who the People Power Party will nominate. The party’s Yangsan-eu district committee chairman is Han Ok-moon, former chairman of the Yangsan City Council. It remains to be seen whether the party will nominate Han Ok-moon, who is well-versed in local issues through his council activities, or select a new figure to reclaim Yangsan.

Na Dong-yeon, a candidate of the United Future Party running in Yangsan-si (Eul), Gyeongnam, is greeting commuters at the Deokgye-ro intersection in Yangsan, Gyeongnam, on April 3, 2020. Photo by Dongju Yoon, Yangsan, Gyeongnam doso7@

Ulsan Buk-gu, Variable Due to Opposition Candidate Vote Splitting

Ulsan Buk-gu was a district that dealt defeats to the People Power Party-affiliated parties in the 20th (2016) and 21st (2020) general elections. For the People Power Party, reclaiming Ulsan Buk-gu is inevitably a key goal in the upcoming general election. Traditionally, Buk-gu has been a tough battleground for conservative parties.

It is an area where labor unions have strong influence and progressive party candidates have shown strength. In the 21st general election, Democratic candidate Lee Sang-heon won with 46.3% of the vote. Park Dae-dong of the United Future Party garnered 40.9% but failed to overcome the political presence of Lee Sang-heon and lost.

Buk-gu remains a representative district where the opposition party aims to win in Ulsan in the 22nd general election. The Democratic Party is expected to have fierce competition over candidate nominations. Incumbent Lee Sang-heon, former Ulsan Buk-gu Mayor Lee Dong-kwon, former Ulsan City Council Chairman Park Byung-seok, and former Hyundai Motor Union Chairman Lee Kyung-hoon are all mentioned as potential candidates.

The People Power Party has seen applications for the Buk-gu district committee chairmanship from former lawmaker Park Dae-dong and others, but the appointment has been postponed. For the upcoming general election, former lawmaker Park Dae-dong, Yoon Doo-hwan, president of Ulsan Urban Corporation and former National Assembly member, and politician Rak Jeong of the Ulsan City Council are among those considered potential candidates.

The Justice Party’s Kim Jin-young, former Ulsan City Council member, is attracting attention regarding a possible general election bid. There is also speculation that former lawmaker Yoon Jong-oh, who served as Ulsan Buk-gu Mayor and National Assembly member, will run as a Progressive Party candidate in Ulsan Buk-gu.