Close Contest in Busan Geumjeong-gu Garden
Impact of Opposition Candidate Unification and Regime Judgment Theory
Appearance of Proxy Battle Between Ruling and Opposition Party Leaders
Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party, will hold a final campaign rally to support the candidate for Busan Geumjeong District Mayor on the 15th, one day before the by-election. This marks the sixth time Han has visited Busan during this by-election period.
On the same day, Han will hold a meeting with the Busan Geumjeong District branch of the Korea Senior Citizens Association in the afternoon, followed by a campaign rally supporting People Power Party candidate Yoon Il-hyun around Jungang-daero and Jangjeon Station in Geumjeong District.
Previously, on the 11th of last month, Han visited Yangsan Busan National University Hospital and Seodongmi-ro Market in Geumjeong District, and on the 28th, he attended the opening ceremony of the election office for the Busan Geumjeong District Mayor candidate. He also visited Geumjeong District on the 5th, 6th, and 9th of this month for support rallies, and on the 12th, he conducted a "walking campaign across Geumjeong District," covering 7.3 km on foot over three hours.
Originally, Busan Geumjeong District was considered a conservative stronghold with expectations of an easy victory, but the unification of the Democratic Party and the Innovation Party of the People turned it into a closely contested area, accelerating Han's campaign efforts.
In particular, following Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung's visit to Busan on the 12th to campaign for candidate Kim, the day before, Cho Guk, leader of the Innovation Party of the People, also joined the support efforts, turning the by-election for district mayor into a proxy battle between party leaders.
Moreover, various allegations surrounding First Lady Kim Keon-hee, along with the controversy involving Kim Dae-nam, former Deputy Secretary for Citizen Communication at the Presidential Office, and Myung Tae-kyun, raising suspicions of interference in candidate nominations, have worsened public opinion, creating a sense of crisis that "we might lose this." Some polls even show candidate Yoon trailing Democratic Party candidate Kim Kyung-ji within the margin of error.
A poll conducted by Every Research, commissioned jointly by NewsPirit and EveryNews, surveyed 500 men and women aged 18 and over residing in Busan Geumjeong District on the 6th and 7th (wireless ARS automated response survey, with a sampling error of ±4.4 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, response rate of 5.3%; detailed information available on the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website) regarding the "Busan Geumjeong District Mayor by-election" showed candidate Kim at 45.8% and candidate Yoon at 42.3%.
In a BBS Radio interview on the same day, candidate Yoon commented on the poll, saying, "As the election has started, the government's approval rating has come out low, so the argument for government judgment seems to have had some effect," but added, "There seems to be a growing consensus that we cannot waste the term of the Geumjeong District Mayor by only shouting for government judgment."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
