The Busan mayoral race has descended into all-out negative campaigning in its final stretch, with People Power Party candidate Park Heong-jun and Democratic Party candidate Jeon Jae-soo trading attacks on multiple fronts. Both camps have launched full-scale offensives against each other as controversies over an LCT lease contract and alleged manipulation of opinion polls erupted simultaneously.
Jeon's election campaign committee issued a statement Wednesday raising allegations of an additional LCT lease contract involving Park's family. "It has been confirmed that Park's family, not content with owning two LCT units, signed an additional lease contract under the name of Johyun Gallery," the committee said. "This contract directly contradicts his promise to sell the properties." The committee criticized Park, saying he "changed his words and reversed them with his actions," calling it "a symbolic case of destroying public trust."
The committee particularly took issue with the fact that a lease contract under the name of Johyun Gallery Co., Ltd. was renewed in January this year, escalating its offensive by saying, "If there were genuine intent to sell, this move cannot be explained." It also pointed out that "claiming to be 'a kind of jeonse victim' himself in front of citizens suffering from jeonse fraud demonstrates a lack of empathy."
Earlier, Park's election campaign committee held a press conference at its headquarters on Monday, taking aim at various allegations surrounding Jeon. "Jeon has consistently responded to policy questions and serious allegations with silence and shifting positions," the committee said. "This raises doubts about his basic qualifications as a candidate for public office." The committee identified allegations of accepting expensive watches, controversy over his wife's residency history, suspicions of intervention and manipulation in opinion polling, and revelations from former aides as key issues.
The committee particularly highlighted allegations of poll call-forwarding based on disclosures from a former aide. "A former aide, with name and face revealed, claimed that Jeon adjusted survey schedules through a polling agency with which he had personal ties and even systematically directed call forwarding of landline phones," the committee said. "This is a matter that may constitute a serious violation of the Public Official Election Act."
Local political observers note that as the election enters its final phase, mutual smear campaigns are taking center stage rather than policy competition. "Attempts to tarnish the opposing candidate are escalating to extremes," a local political source said. "Meanwhile, Busan's future vision and livelihood issues are disappearing from the debate."
