"They say everyone's voting for Kim Boo-kyum. Word is he's bringing a lot of money down with him." (Ha Young-soon, a merchant in her 70s)
"Still, Daegu is where conservatives get their votes." (Mr. Kim, an office worker in his 30s)
On April 26, 38 days before the June 3 local elections, Ha Young-soon, 78, who sells agar bean-water drinks at Seomun Market in Daegu's Jung-gu district, responded to a reporter's question about local sentiment by saying, "You have to look at the person, not the party." Glancing around at neighboring shops, she added, "This lady over here says she's voting for Kim Boo-kyum too," illustrating the shift in local sentiment. In contrast, Mr. Kim, 33, an office worker, expressed his hopes for the conservative party, saying, "Choo Kyung-ho has experience as deputy prime minister for economic affairs, so wouldn't he know Daegu's economy well?"
On the day the final lineup was confirmed for the Daegu mayoral race, now a key battleground in the local elections, residents at Seomun Market—often seen as a barometer of conservative sentiment—appeared to lean slightly more toward change than toward defending the conservative stronghold. Cho Ok-soo, 70, out shopping, said, "They say Kim Boo-kyum is popular and will win." She then criticized the ruling People Power Party, adding, "The People Power Party lawmakers don't seem great. Even Hong Joon-pyo started the job and then quit."
The expectations of voters planning to cast their ballots for Kim Boo-kyum, the Democratic Party's Daegu mayoral candidate, can be summed up as a demand to revive Daegu's economy through fiscal support from the ruling party at the central government. Kim is tapping into this sentiment. He has pledged to restart the administrative integration of Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province (TK), which could bring up to 20 trillion won in benefits over four years, and to secure 1 trillion won in funding for a new airport project. On April 27, he pledged to gradually expand the Daegu-ro Pay budget from the current 300 billion won to 600 billion won.
A resident in his 50s working in the construction industry, whom the reporter met at Dongdaegu Station, said, "The new airport, the region's most urgent issue, is stalled. To find a breakthrough, we need to give Candidate Kim, who can be seen as part of the current ruling power, a chance to work." Regarding Choo, he said, "He has a bureaucratic side, and would Lee Jae-myung give him budget?" He added, "People are saying things like Kim Boo-kyum went back to Yangpyeong and came back, but we should give him a chance to serve one last time."
While the atmosphere favorable to the Democratic Party has grown significantly, reactions such as "Daegu doesn't change. Kim Boo-kyum has no chance" were also common. On the same day, the People Power Party selected its lawmaker Choo Kyung-ho as its Daegu mayoral candidate, while Kim held the opening ceremony for his campaign office.
Among the residents the reporter met that day, there were not only traditional conservative supporters who believe in protecting "the last bastion of conservatism," but also many who are wary of the Democratic Party's populist economic policies. A 40-something office worker met on Daegu's Dongseong-ro said, "Many people my age have changed their thinking, but those younger than us and our parents' generation haven't changed." Of Kim, he said, "We want to attract major corporations or solid mid-sized companies, but the 1 trillion won pledge for the new airport didn't resonate."
Choo's first official schedule as the Daegu mayoral candidate was a visit to the Chunghontap memorial at Apsan Mountain in Daegu, where he wrote in the memorial register, "I will revive Daegu's economy, I will protect the heart of conservatism, and Choo Kyung-ho will shoulder this heavy responsibility and do the job 'dandi' (a Gyeongsang dialect word meaning 'firmly')." On Facebook, he wrote, "Daegu, an economic city where money and people gather! Choo Kyung-ho will make it happen!" pledging to develop the city as a hub for advanced industries including artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and future mobility, and to attract investment from major domestic and international corporations.
