[General Election Battleground] Daegu without Opposition Kim Bu-gyeom and Yoo Si-min... Hotter Ruling Party Nomination Competition

⑥ Daegu·Gyeongbuk - Daegu Suseong-gu
Amid Ruling Party's Absolute Dominance, Attention Focused on Candidate Group
Interest in Suseong-gu Challenges by Lee In-seon, Kwon Young-jin, Yoo Young-ha, etc.

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. The analysis focuses on areas where close contests between the ruling and opposition parties have taken place, where major candidates are running, or where internal party competition is intense, dividing the country regionally.

Daegu and Gyeongbuk (TK) have traditionally been strongholds of conservative parties. Although some conservative-leaning independent candidates have won in certain areas, it has not been easy for candidates affiliated with the Democratic Party to break through the TK barrier.

On the Democratic side, star-level politicians such as former Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum and former Minister of Health and Welfare Yoo Si-min have contested, turning these into true battlegrounds. Kim Boo-kyum was actually elected, and Yoo Si-min has experience of a strong showing in Daegu.

However, neither Kim Boo-kyum nor Yoo Si-min is among the candidates for the 22nd general election. The election is expected to proceed amid the absolute dominance of the People Power Party. While there is interest in how well Democratic candidates will perform, it is doubtful they will demonstrate the level of impact necessary to win.

On the afternoon of April 14, 2020, one day before the April 15 general election voting day, candidates running for Suseong-gu Eul in Daegu's Suseong-gu area are appealing for support. From the left, Lee Sang-sik of the Democratic Party of Korea, Lee In-seon of the United Future Party, and independent candidate Hong Jun-pyo.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the other hand, the focus is on which candidates the People Power Party will nominate and whether those who fail to secure nominations will run as independents and succeed. An interesting point is that Daegu Suseong District, where Kim Boo-kyum and Yoo Si-min previously ran, remains a subject of interest for the upcoming election.

Rather than a direct confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties, the attention is on the ruling party's nomination tactics. Particularly, the electoral dynamics in Daegu Suseong-eul are drawing attention. In the 21st general election in 2020, Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo ran as an independent candidate in Daegu Suseong-eul and won.

The possibility of Mayor Hong Joon-pyo running again in Daegu Suseong-eul in the 22nd general election in 2024 is close to zero.

Within the People Power Party, Representative Lee In-seon, who secured a seat through the June 1 by-election last year, is preparing to run, and former Daegu Mayor Kwon Young-jin is also listed among potential candidates. There is speculation that Yoo Young-ha, a lawyer close to former President Park Geun-hye, might run in the Daegu Suseong-eul district.

Jung Soon-chun, Director of the Daegu City Happiness Promotion Social Service Center, and Professor Sa Gong Jeong-gyu of Dongguk University College of Medicine are also among those considered for the People Power Party nomination. The People Power Party’s preliminary contests are fiercer than the main election. Since securing the party nomination significantly increases the chances of winning a parliamentary seat, candidates are expected to engage in intense strategic maneuvering until the last moment to select their districts.

On the Democratic Party side, Kim Yong-rak, a poet and former journalist who is the regional chairperson for Daegu Suseong-eul, is expected to run in the next general election. There is also interest in whether Lee Sang-sik, former Daegu Provincial Police Agency chief who ran as a Democratic candidate in the last election, will challenge the election again.