The Democratic Party of Korea moved in earnest to prepare party-level pledges ahead of the June 3 local elections. It unveiled as its first pledge the "Just Do It for You" program, inspired by President Lee Jae-myung's "Just Give" initiative. The Democratic Party plans to drive a "ruling party victory" narrative by developing policies while the People Power Party is mired in internal strife over a "nomination cutoff (exclusion)" controversy.
On the morning of the 24th, the Democratic Party held a launch ceremony at the National Assembly for the "Snap-on Pledge Project Task Force (TF)." The TF launched under the banner of "lifestyle-focused pledges," in which the public proposes everyday problems and solutions, and a designated lawmaker turns them into pledges. The TF is led by Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon. The party plans to make these so-called "Snap-on pledges" common pledges for local election candidates.
The TF's first pledge is the "Just Do It for You Center." It is modeled after the "Just Give Center" implemented in Gyeonggi Province when President Lee served as governor. It will provide free services to households with seniors 65 and older, such as replacing fluorescent lights and bulbs, exchanging faucets, and installing safety grab bars to prevent falls. If realized, Just Do It for You Centers will be established in all 229 basic local governments nationwide.
Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae said at the launch ceremony, "As of today, there are 71 days left until the local elections, and the Democratic Party is unveiling an ambitious 'hit product' we have been preparing," adding, "Rather than lawmakers crafting pledges, this is a participatory policy pledge in which people who directly feel the needs and desires propose them to the Democratic Party."
From the day it released the party-level first pledge, the party's "two top leaders" moved actively to develop policies. In the morning, leader Jung met with the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises (K-Biz), and in the afternoon, held a roundtable to gather youth policy proposals. Floor leader Han Byung-do also arranged meetings the same day to hear about pending issues in Busan and North Jeolla, filling a schedule tailored to the local elections.
With 70 days left until the local elections, the Democratic Party plans to solidify a "ruling party victory" by releasing pledges before the People Power Party. The calculation is that showing a focus on policy while the People Power Party grapples with internal confusion over nominations will appeal more easily to voters.
In fact, a Korea Gallup survey of 1,001 people nationwide aged 18 and older conducted on the 3rd to 5th found that, regarding expectations for the June 3 local elections, 46% said "many ruling party candidates should be elected," while 30% said "many opposition party candidates should be elected." The gap between the two responses widened to 16 percentage points (p) from 10 p in the previous survey.
The poll was conducted via live interviewer calls to randomly generated wireless phone virtual numbers. The margin of sampling error is ±3.1% at the 95% confidence level, the contact rate is 44.7%, and the response rate is 11.9%. For details, refer to the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission website.