With about a week left before the June 3 local elections, discord between the People Power Party's central headquarters and its Seoul mayoral candidate is standing out. Jang Dong-hyeok, the People Power Party's standing election countermeasures committee chairperson, hit the stump in Seoul on the 26th, but he and Seoul mayoral candidate Oh Se-hoon followed different routes and carried out separate schedules. Some analyses said Oh's camp is keeping its distance from joint rallies with Jang out of concern that centrist voters could drift away.
Jang began the afternoon at Geumnam Market in Seongdong District and then headed to Gyeongui Line Forest Park in Mapo District, making his first trip to support campaigns in Seoul since the official start of electioneering. However, after a collapse occurred at the Seosomun overpass site in Seodaemun District, he temporarily suspended the support rallies after finishing the Gyeongui Line Forest Park stop.
Standing atop a campaign truck in front of Gyeongui Line Forest Park, Jang focused on stressing the need to judge the Lee Jae-myung administration, citing the Starbucks incident and other issues. Lawmaker Cho Jung-hoon and Mapo District chief candidate Park Kang-su joined him at the site.
He said, "Have you ever heard of a country where the president steps in and tells the people, 'Don't drink this kind of coffee'?" adding, "The freedom to choose what to drink is the most basic right. Even if there is a problem with certain corporations, it is up to the people as consumers to decide whether to buy the product."
He continued, "I fear that a politics of fear in which the president interferes even with a cup of coffee for the people will become normalized in our society. Pointing fingers at the people for drinking coffee is not a matter of the future to come, but the reality of Korea that we are experiencing right now," adding, "Through these local elections, we must stop politics of fear and dictatorship. In this local race, we must rise up together, fight, and protect Korea."
The party leadership had focused on support rallies in the Chungcheong and Yeongnam regions, but with eight days left until the election, it is now continuing on-the-ground rallies centered on key battlegrounds in Seoul to rally its base. Early voting begins in three days.
Meanwhile, some in the party appear less than welcoming of Jang's Seoul schedule this time. Even considering that Jang's hard-hitting remarks are aimed at rallying conservative supporters, they could negatively affect candidates in Seoul who need to broaden support among centrists. In particular, with recent polls showing Oh closing in on Jeong, Oh's camp is more cautious about joint rallies.
Indeed, Oh's campaign appeared to take this into account and arranged schedules that did not overlap with Jang's that day. Oh visited Mangwon Market in Mapo District at 12 p.m., while Jang Dong-hyeok visited Gyeongui Line Forest Park in Mapo District at 3:30 p.m. Lawmaker Cho Jung-hoon and candidate Park Kang-su accompanied the campaign stops for both, but the two themselves carried out separate schedules.
In the morning, Oh met reporters at his campaign headquarters in Jongno District and, when asked why he was not campaigning with Jang, said, "Strategic division of roles is a very important campaign strategy," adding, "Since local elections ultimately deal with municipal administration of day-to-day affairs and aim to form local governments and councils, there seems to be no particular reason for the central party to intervene."