"Seize Honam"... Jo Guk Innovation Party Aiming to Exploit Democratic Party Rift

The Party for National Innovation Launches Aggressive Campaign in Honam Region
Aiming for Success in By-Elections for Yeonggwang and Gokseong County Governors

'25.29%' '23.17%'

These are the online voting participation rates in the local primaries of the Democratic Party of Korea in the Gwangju and Jeonnam regions, considered the heartland of the democratic camp. The Democratic Party has promoted this party convention as a festival that party members can enjoy while emphasizing its transformation into a party centered on its members. However, concerns are emerging that in the Gwangju and Jeonnam regions, only one in four people participate in the convention, turning it into a "party for themselves."

On the morning of the 4th, Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party's presidential candidate, is delivering his policy speech at the joint candidate debate for party president and supreme council members held at the Kim Dae-jung Convention Center in Seo-gu, Gwangju. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The official stance of the Democratic Party is that the voter turnout in the Gwangju and Jeonnam regions is not low. On the 5th, the Democratic Party announced that the online voting rates in Gwangju and the Honam region increased by 7.11 percentage points and 6.41 percentage points respectively compared to the 2022 party convention. There are also opinions that the turnout rate at the party convention is not important. On the 12th, Democratic Party lawmaker Choi Min-hee said on YTN Radio's "News Fighting," "The party leader is the executor of the party members and party rules, so the party leader election does not need to be a hit," adding, "It is enough to just have discussions about how party members will lead the party."

However, there are also opinions that the sentiment in Honam is unusual. As of the 11th, the cumulative online voting rate for the Democratic Party leader primary was 29.19%, higher than the voting rate in the Gwangju and Jeonnam regions. This is different from the past when Honam sentiment led the trend. Choi Byung-chun, former deputy director of the Democratic Research Institute and current head of the New Growth Economy Research Institute, said, "The Honam region has long been a stronghold of the democratic camp, so it is a place where various interests gather rather than being centered on candidate Lee," adding, "The low turnout can be interpreted as relatively less willingness to actively support candidate Lee."

The Party for National Innovation Targets By-Elections... "Leadership Living on Monthly Rent in Honam"

Cho Kuk, leader of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, is talking with Woo Won-shik, Speaker of the National Assembly, at the plenary session held at the National Assembly on the 29th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

The Party for National Innovation is steadily sending love calls to Honam, aiming to exploit cracks. On the 5th, the Party for National Innovation appointed Cho Yoon-jung, director of the Women’s Vision Network, as a nominated supreme council member. Director Cho is an expert in women, family, and education fields active in Gwangju, who left the Democratic Party before the 22nd general election and joined the Party for National Innovation. On the 7th, Party for National Innovation leader Cho Guk said at a supreme council meeting held at the National Assembly, "Appointing Director Cho as a nominated supreme council member is to accommodate the sentiment of voters in the Honam region."

The Party for National Innovation aims to achieve meaningful results in the by-elections for the county heads of Yeonggwang and Gokseong in Jeonnam, scheduled for October 16. According to the Jeollanam-do Election Commission, as of the 11th, eight candidates have registered as preliminary candidates for Yeonggwang county head, and six candidates for Gokseong county head. The Democratic Party has launched an additional recruitment for Yeonggwang county head candidates. The Party for National Innovation recorded vote shares of 39.46% in Yeonggwang and 39.88% in Gokseong in the last general election, and is quietly judging that it is worth trying.

Reflecting this trend, the Party for National Innovation leadership, including leader Cho, plans to live on monthly rent in the Honam region and devote themselves fully to the election. Kim Bo-hyeop, chief spokesperson for the Party for National Innovation, said, "(Leader Cho) will establish a base in Honam and conduct a grueling campaign traveling to other regions." If a Party for National Innovation candidate wins in even one of the two places, the rivalry between the two to capture "Honam sentiment" is expected to intensify further. The preliminary contest has already begun.