Chung Cheong-rae, chief standing co-chair of the Democratic Party of Korea's election committee, visited Seoul, considered a battleground, and North Gyeongsang Province, regarded as hostile territory, on Wednesday to appeal for support, one day ahead of early voting (May 29-30) for the June 3 local elections.
In the morning, Chung intensively supported candidates running for district mayor positions, races that are linked to the flow of public sentiment in the Seoul mayoral election. He held campaign rallies in front of Amsa Station in Gangdong-gu, Lotte Department Store Konkuk Star City branch in Gwangjin-gu, and Exit 1 of Mangwon Station in Mapo-gu, throwing his weight behind district mayor candidates.
As Seoul, initially expected to favor the Democratic Party, has emerged as a battleground, Chung targeted votes in the "Han River Belt," a representative swing-vote region. Chung particularly emphasized the "ruling party premium," saying, "Democratic Party for president, Democratic Party for Seoul mayor, Democratic Party for district mayors, Democratic Party for National Assembly members — only when this happens will things mesh together like gears and work well."
He also launched an offensive against the People Power Party, citing former Presidents Yoon Suk-yeol, Park Geun-hye, and Lee Myung-bak. "'Yoon Again' supporters are roaming around, former President Park Geun-hye, who went to prison and was impeached for state affairs interference, is roaming around, and MB (former President Lee Myung-bak), who went to prison for corruption, is also out roaming around," he said. "They say conservatives are uniting, so shouldn't we band together even more tightly?"
Chung particularly stressed that support for President Lee Jae-myung should carry over into votes. The campaign strategy is interpreted as reflecting President Lee's high approval ratings among moderate voters. "If citizens who support the president and want to help him steer state affairs stably go to the polls, it is a winning election," he stressed.
After completing his Seoul campaign, he visited North Gyeongsang Province, considered an unfavorable region. North Gyeongsang is the only one of 16 metropolitan and provincial governor elections that the Democratic Party has classified as favoring the People Power Party. He first provided support in Gimcheon for Oh Jung-ki, the candidate for North Gyeongsang governor, and Na Young-min, the candidate for Gimcheon mayor.
In his campaign speech, he appealed, "For Gimcheon to become a younger, more dynamic city, it is time to break free from the yoke of one-party rule that has dominated for decades and give the Democratic Party the power to bring a wind of change." He added, "I think it is a miracle that (President Lee) is recording an approval rating of more than 50% even here in Gyeongsang Province," again stressing that voters should throw their support behind the ruling party candidates for regional development.
He continued, "A special act for Gimcheon's development can pass the National Assembly only when the Democratic Party leads it. For Gimcheon's development, the Democratic Party will fully support both budget and legislation."
