Ahead of Early Voting on the 6th
Both Ruling and Opposition Parties Launch All-Out Campaign
The by-election for the Mayor of Gangseo District, Seoul, scheduled for the 11th, is just a week away. As this election serves as a preliminary contest to gauge public sentiment in the Seoul metropolitan area six months ahead of next year's general parliamentary election, both ruling and opposition parties are fiercely competing.
According to the National Election Commission on the 4th, early voting for this by-election will take place over two days starting from the 6th. Seven candidates are running: Jin Gyo-hoon (Democratic Party), Kim Tae-woo (People Power Party), Kwon Su-jeong (Justice Party), Kwon Hye-in (Progressive Party), Kim Yu-ri (Green Party), Lee Myung-ho (Our Republican Party), and Go Young-il (Liberty Unification Party).
Gangseo District is one of the 226 basic local governments nationwide, but this by-election has emerged as a 'mini general election' ahead of next year's parliamentary election, resulting in a clash between the opposition's 'regime judgment theory' and the ruling party's 'regional development theory.' Because of this, both parties' leaderships are focusing their efforts on supporting the Gangseo District Mayor by-election during this Chuseok holiday period.
Hong Ik-pyo, the floor leader of the Democratic Party, visited the election office of candidate Jin, a former deputy commissioner of the National Police Agency, immediately after paying respects at the National Cemetery with the newly appointed floor leadership team in the morning. He held a high-level meeting on-site. Afterwards, he held a policy meeting on redevelopment and reconstruction-related livelihood policies and urged strong support for candidate Jin. The Democratic Party is emphasizing the 'regime judgment theory' in this election. The party's decision to field a police officer candidate in response to Kim, a former prosecutor, is interpreted in the same context. Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party leader who is recovering after a fast, recently stated, "This by-election is a regime judgment election and a preliminary battle for next year's general election, so we must win," showing his leadership from his hospital bed.
Kim Ki-hyun, the leader of the People Power Party, is also putting all his efforts into this by-election. On the last day of the Chuseok holiday, the party leadership made a full-scale appearance to campaign in support of candidate Kim. Notably, Kim has already visited the election sites six times on the 25th, 26th, 28th of last month and the 1st and 2nd of this month. On the 1st, at a meeting with veterans' organizations in Gangseo District, Kim emphasized that candidate Kim is "the son of a Vietnam War veteran," promising a 200 billion KRW budget increase for the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs and a 5% annual increase in compensation for national merit recipients. The next day, at a meeting of the Moa Town Promotion Committee in Gangseo District, he promised urban redevelopment in Gangseo.
The People Power Party has deployed many senior party members, including National Assembly Deputy Speaker Jung Woo-taek, Assemblyman Ahn Cheol-soo, and former Assemblywoman Na Kyung-won, to the election campaign committee. Assemblyman Ahn has been appointed as the standing advisor to the Gangseo District Mayor by-election campaign committee and is scheduled to participate in election campaigning on the day.
Currently, all three constituencies in Gangseo District?Gap, Eul, and Byeong?are represented by incumbent lawmakers from the Democratic Party, and in the last presidential election, candidate Lee Jae-myung (49.17%) received more votes than President Yoon Seok-youl (46.97%), indicating strong opposition party support. However, candidate Kim's victory in last year's local election showed the possibility of an upset. Therefore, the election outcome remains unpredictable. Floor leader Hong said on MBC radio that morning, "During the holiday period, I continuously visited the field, and the residents of Gangseo were very angry and frustrated," adding that if voter turnout exceeds 40%, it would be advantageous for the Democratic Party.
On the same radio program, Ha Tae-kyung of the People Power Party said, "Up to 40%, it is a battle of fixed supporters," and predicted, "In my view, regardless of who wins, it is likely to be a very close election."
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