Preliminary candidates from the Democratic Party of Korea, who have thrown their hats into the ring for the June 3 local elections, clashed over securing power for the Yongin semiconductor cluster and the issue of splitting off northern Gyeonggi.
Democratic Party candidates Han Jun-ho, Choo Mi-ae, Yang Gi-dae, Kwon Chil-seung, and Kim Dong-yeon (in ballot order) held their first joint debate on the 19th at JTBC in Mapo-gu, Seoul, and presented their respective strategies for Gyeonggi Province's development.
The sharpest disagreement among the candidates was over how to secure power for the Yongin semiconductor cluster. Incumbent candidate Kim Dong-yeon asked during the initiative-taking segment how each candidate would secure power.
Candidate Kwon Chil-seung said, "No matter how much we lay transmission lines, it's an empty gesture if we can't secure total power supply," adding, "We need to demonstrate small modular reactors (SMRs)." Candidate Yang Gi-dae proposed supplying power generated in Saemangeum by using the median strips and shoulders of the Seohaean Expressway.
By contrast, candidate Choo Mi-ae, regarding undergrounding transmission lines, said, "There are concerns about heat generation," and noted, "It is worth reviewing a plan to underground railways by using Honam KTX and other lines that can circulate air." Candidate Han Jun-ho said, "Ultimately, we need a deal in which the energy industry in the Seoul metropolitan area moves to the regions and research and development complexes are established in the metropolitan area."
Candidate Kim said, "During the eighth popularly elected term, we focused on renewable energy and created 1.7 GW of power," adding, "There is time until 2040, so Gyeonggi Province should concentrate more on renewable energy."
Candidates also split over the plan to create the Gyeonggi Northern Special Self-Governing Province by dividing the province. Candidate Kim Dong-yeon held up an 'O,' while the other four candidates held up an 'X.' Kim said, "The president has spoken of special compensation for special sacrifices," adding, "Trusting the president, we have announced and are implementing plans to expand infrastructure, including grand development of the north and development of returned U.S. military idle sites. In the long term, I believe we should build strength by advancing and becoming independent as a Northern Special Self-Governing Province."
Candidate Choo pointed out that division runs counter to the administrative integration being pursued by the Lee Jae-myung administration. Candidate Han said, "It is important to design more precisely how to ease regulations and what incentives to give," and candidate Kwon answered, "Rather than division, financial, policy, and legal support is needed."
In a segment introducing a photo capturing a moment from their own lives, a competition in "myeongsim" marketing also unfolded. Candidate Han chose a scene from 2023 when he went out to greet Lee Jae-myung after a court rejected a request for his arrest warrant at the time, and candidate Choo chose a photo from 2018, when she was party leader, of her and then-Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myung joining hands on the campaign trail.
Candidate Kim introduced a thank-you letter received from the Suwon Southern Fire Station in Gyeonggi and firefighters, candidate Yang picked a photo taken at the Gwangmyeong Cave development site from his time as Gwangmyeong mayor in 2014, and candidate Kwon chose a 1994 photo of him resisting corporations' unfair labor practices.