50 Contested Areas Increasingly Expanding
"Ruling and Opposition Parties Show Signs of Rallying Supporters"
Yang Moon-seok and Kim Jun-hyeok Apologize for Controversy... No Resignation Expected
The Democratic Party of Korea analyzed on the 4th, one day before early voting, that "as the election approaches, the two major parties are consolidating, showing a continuous expansion of competitive districts."
Han Byung-do, head of the Democratic Party's Election Countermeasures Committee Strategy Headquarters, met with reporters at the party office and said, "It is true that the judgment mood against the Yoon Seok-yeol administration expanded, leading to an upward phase," and added, "Looking at recent trends, the Democratic Party is drawing a downward trajectory."
He said, "The election outcome is a one-vote battle that cannot be predicted. The one-vote battle is expanding." Han added, "There are so many close regions, and considering variables such as voter turnout by age group and last-minute conservative consolidation, it is difficult to predict, but we will do our best until the end aiming for a majority."
Without revealing specific analysis of the situation, he said, "There could be around 50 competitive districts, and the expansion of these competitive districts clearly indicates that both parties are consolidating."
Han pointed to voter turnout as the key variable that will decide the election. He said, "Since both parties are consolidating, I think the biggest variable is voter turnout." He added, "If this turnout exceeds 65%, it will be advantageous for the Democratic Party, so whether many people participate is the biggest variable."
Regarding allegations such as Yang Moon-seok, the Democratic Party candidate for Ansan City Gap in Gyeonggi Province, involved in the Saemaeul Geumgo 'illegal loan' suspicion, and Kim Jun-hyuk, the Democratic Party candidate for Suwon City Jeong, involved in controversial remarks, Han said, "First of all, I apologize to the public for the actions and remarks of some candidates that do not meet the public's expectations," and added, "They have apologized and reflected on their actions. I believe the public will evaluate that part." This is interpreted as an explanation that there will be no party-level cancellation of nominations.
However, regarding the Financial Supervisory Service's announcement that it may release interim inspection results related to the two candidates, he criticized it as "government election interference."
Meanwhile, Han predicted that the ruling party's pleading strategy in the final stages of the general election would not work. He said, "The public defines this election as a judgment on the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, so the People Power Party's strategy (to create a sense of crisis and actively induce its supporters to vote) will not work well." He also evaluated the People Power Party's strategy of raising an opposition party judgment theory as "a foolish strategy," adding, "I thought it was an attempt to express personal emotions in the general election."
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