[General Election Battleground] Will the Ruling Party Secure Honam's Gold Badge? It Depends on Jeonju and Suncheon

⑩ Jeonnam·Jeonbuk - Suncheon·Gwangyang·Gokseong·Gurye Gap, Jeonju Si-eul
Cheon Haram General Election Results: Ruling Party Jeonnam Score Variable
Jeong Uncheon Former District Jeonju Si-eul General Election Results Also Noteworthy

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 dynamics. 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.

The electoral map of Jeollanam-do and Jeollabuk-do may seem straightforward, but it is surprisingly complex. It might appear that a particular party has consistently achieved landslide victories in past general elections, but the reality has been different.

There have been cases where parties like the People’s Party, which shook the public sentiment in Honam, caused significant shifts in the voter base, or where a strong independent candidate wave disrupted the election dynamics.

It is not a situation where one can be complacent just because the upcoming general election seems to favor the Democratic Party. It is true that the Democratic Party showed strength in the last general election. In Jeonnam, they swept all 10 seats, and in Jeonbuk, they secured 9 out of 10 seats.

Interview_ Cheon Haram, People Power Party Presidential Candidate. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

The Democratic Party is also expecting a landslide victory in the general election next April.

The People Power Party aims to secure seats in Honam. Currently, Representative Lee Yong-ho (Jeonbuk Namwon·Imsil·Sunchang) is affiliated with the ruling party, but he was elected as an independent in the last general election and later joined the People Power Party. Whether the People Power Party can secure seats in Honam under its banner is a matter of interest.

In the 2016 20th general election, the Saenuri Party (the predecessor of the People Power Party) secured one seat each in Jeonnam and Jeonbuk. The key Honam constituencies attracting attention from both ruling and opposition parties include Suncheon-si·Gwangyang-si·Gokseong-gun·Gurye-gun Gap in Jeonnam and Jeonju-si Eul in Jeonbuk.

Growing Curiosity Over Cheon Ha-ram’s Election Record

Cheon Ha-ram, a lawyer affiliated with the Lee Jun-seok faction, serves as the party committee chairman for the Suncheon-si·Gwangyang-si·Gokseong-gun·Gurye-gun Gap district. Cheon Ha-ram also ran in the last general election.

In the 2020 20th general election for the Suncheon-si·Gwangyang-si·Gokseong-gun·Gurye-gun Gap district, Democratic Party candidate So Byung-chul received 58.6%, Future United Party (predecessor of the People Power Party) candidate Cheon Ha-ram 3.0%, Minjung Party candidate Kim Seon-dong 4.4%, and independent candidate Noh Kwan-gyu 31.7% of the votes respectively.

So Byung-chul won comfortably, and Noh Kwan-gyu also performed well. Cheon Ha-ram’s vote share was not high. For the general election next April, Democratic Party candidates under consideration include incumbent So Byung-chul and former lawmaker Seo Gap-won. Noh Kwan-gyu is excluded from the candidate pool as he was elected mayor of Suncheon.

The People Power Party is expected to field Cheon Ha-ram as a candidate, and it is noteworthy that his political value has risen compared to the 2020 general election. Cheon Ha-ram gained significant political recognition by running as the People Power Party’s representative candidate and creating a political stir.

There is interest in whether he can bring a victory miracle to the conservative party following former lawmaker Lee Jeong-hyun.

Lee Jeong-hyun, a key figure in Suncheon politics, is expected to run in a different district such as Suncheon-si·Gwangyang-si·Gokseong-gun·Gurye-gun rather than face off directly against Cheon Ha-ram, but his candidacy location has not yet been finalized.

Which candidate the ruling party will field in the Suncheon-si·Gwangyang-si·Gokseong-gun·Gurye-gun Gap district and how much impact that candidate will have remains a subject of interest.

Jeonju-si Eul: A Three-Way Contest Among Democratic Party, People Power Party, and Progressive Party Draws Attention

Another Honam district where the ruling party places its hopes is Jeonbuk Jeonju-si Eul. This is the district where Representative Jeong Un-cheon, who was elected as a Saenuri Party candidate in the 2016 20th general election, is expected to run. Jeong Un-cheon was elected via proportional representation in the 2020 21st general election.

He is preparing to run again as a candidate for Jeonju-si Eul in the 2024 general election.

In the 2020 general election, Democratic Party candidate Lee Sang-jik won Jeonju-si Eul with 62.5% of the vote. Future United Party candidate Lee Su-jin received 6.6%, and independent candidate Choi Hyung-jae got 20.1%. However, Lee Sang-jik was disqualified and stepped down mid-term, leading to a by-election in Jeonju Eul on April 5.

Progressive Party candidate Kang Sung-hee defeated Democratic-leaning independent candidates and was elected. Currently, Kang Sung-hee is the incumbent representative for Jeonju Eul and is expected to defend the seat in the general election next April.

The Democratic Party has mentioned candidates such as Representative Yang Kyung-sook, lawyer Lee Deok-chun, lawyer Go Jong-yoon, and former Jeonju-si Eul district committee chairman Choi Hyung-jae. If incumbent Progressive Party representative Kang Sung-hee, Democratic Party candidates, and former Jeonju Eul representative Jeong Un-cheon compete, it is expected to be an interesting contest.