Floor leader Han Byung-do of the Democratic Party of Korea has been visiting North Jeolla day after day ahead of the June 3 local elections. It is because public sentiment in North Jeolla, once considered a Democratic stronghold, is shifting in a worrying direction. As antipathy toward leader Jung Chung-rae grows in the region, some observers say Han, not Jung, has stepped in to soothe North Jeolla voters.
On the afternoon of the 22nd, Floor Leader Han visited North Jeolla to stump for fellow party members: Jeon Ju-hoon, candidate for Jeonju mayor; Jeon Chun-seong, candidate for Jinan county chief; and Yoo Hee-tae, candidate for Wanju county chief. The other "two-top," leader Jung Chung-rae, at the same time will visit Gangneung, Donghae and Samcheok in Gangwon to support Woo Sang-ho, the Gangwon governor candidate.
Since winning another term in the floor leader election held on the 6th, Han has gone full tilt into the campaign and, as of this day, has visited North Jeolla five times in two weeks. That is about once every three days. The previous day, Han attended a press conference where North Jeolla governor candidate Lee Won-taek announced his No. 1 pledge and promised policy support.
The reason the Democratic Party is focusing on votes in North Jeolla is the approval rating of independent candidate Kim Kwan-young. The party expelled Kim, who was the "incumbent North Jeolla governor," over allegations of cash handouts and then nominated Lee Won-taek. However, Lee also faced controversy over fairness after allegations surfaced that a third party paid for his meal expenses. In the end, Kim declared an independent run, saying there were problems with the Democratic Party's nomination process.
Kim and Lee are in a tight race. In a wireless telephone interview survey commissioned by KBS and conducted by Embrain Public from the 18th to the 20th of North Jeolla voters, 810 in total, Lee Won-taek recorded 39% and Kim Kwan-young 37%. (Margin of error is ±3.4 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. For details, see the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission website.)
Races for basic-level local government heads where opposition parties such as the Rebuilding Korea Party and The Progressive Party are running are also a problem. The Rebuilding Korea Party fielded candidates in Gunsan, Iksan, Jeongeup, Namwon, Jangsu, Gochang and Buan in North Jeolla, and The Progressive Party fielded a candidate in the Jeonju mayoral race. In particular, the North Jeolla chapter of the Rebuilding Korea Party launched its election committee and is mounting an offensive by raising corruption suspicions against Democratic Party basic-level candidates.
The burden has also grown for Floor Leader Han, whose constituency is Iksan in North Jeolla. If the North Jeolla governorship is handed to independent candidate Kim Kwan-young, questions of responsibility may be raised toward the party leadership and North Jeolla lawmakers. At the party level, Spokesperson statements criticizing Kim are being released almost daily as part of a supportive offensive.
In political circles, some say Floor Leader Han may have been saddled with a difficult task. The premise is that "nominations are the responsibility of the party leadership." One ruling-bloc figure said, "It is not a 'party leader–floor leader two-track strategy,' but rather the appearance of Floor Leader Han handling North Jeolla alone." Another Democratic Party lawmaker also said, "If the Democratic Party loses the North Jeolla governor race, it will hurt leader Jung's leadership, but questions of responsibility could also be raised against Floor Leader Han."
Leader Jung Chung-rae, after finishing campaign stops in Gangwon this day, plans to head to South Jeolla on the 23rd to 24th. The schedule for campaign stops in North Jeolla has not yet been set.