As the June 3 local elections enter the final stretch, former presidents are taking divergent paths. Former Presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak of the conservative camp are stumping nationwide, while former President Moon Jae-in of the progressive camp has not left Yangsan, South Gyeongsang, where his home is. In political circles, some said, "Even a former president will hesitate to jump into campaign support if not confident about their political influence."
◇ Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak's 'two-pronged' stump… "Effective at drawing conservative voters to the polls"
Former President Park Geun-hye visited Seomun Market in Daegu on the 31st. She was with People Power Party Daegu mayoral candidate Choo Kyung-ho. People Power Party lawmakers including Woo Jae-joon, Yoo Young-ha, Kim Ki-woong, and Kim Sang-hoon were also there.
Park said, "I believe candidate Choo Kyung-ho is the right person to revive Daegu's economy," and added, "Please give candidate Choo overwhelming support."
That same day, former President Lee Myung-bak also went to Haeundae, Busan, to stump for People Power Party Busan mayoral candidate Park Heong-joon. Lee said, "Mayor Park Heong-joon is developing Busan in a future-oriented way," and appealed, "Korea develops when Busan develops. Please choose candidate Park so he can finish the work he has been doing."
In the meantime, former President Park started in Daegu on the 23rd of last month, then visited Okcheon in North Chungcheong, Gongju in South Chungcheong, and Daejeon on the 25th; Jinju and Yangsan in South Gyeongsang, Ulsan, and Busan on the 27th; Wonju and Hoengseong in Gangwon on the 28th; and Namhae in South Gyeongsang on the 29th. By stopping in Daegu on the 31st, she crisscrossed Daegu, the Chungcheong region, South Gyeongsang, Busan, and beyond.
Former President Lee also walked along Cheonggyecheon in Jung-gu, Seoul, with People Power Party Seoul mayoral candidate Oh Se-hoon on the 15th of last month and then visited Busan the day before.
Within the People Power Party, many see the appearances of the two former presidents as having a marked effect in rallying conservative forces. A People Power Party lawmaker from the greater Seoul area said, "Traditional conservative voters who felt resistance toward former President Yoon Suk-yeol and leader Jang Dong-hyeok are coming out to vote after seeing former Presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak."
◇ Moon Jae-in largely silent and skipping the stump… "Because he supported the last general election but the results were poor"
By contrast, former President Moon Jae-in, formerly of the Democratic Party of Korea, is refraining from public external activities during this local election phase. After casting an early vote at the early voting station in Habuk-myeon, Yangsan, South Gyeongsang, on the 29th of last month, he said, "I hope this local election will clearly judge the insurrectionist forces and become an election that changes politics in the PK region — including Yangsan, where I live, as well as Busan, Ulsan, and South Gyeongsang." That was virtually all.
It became known that former President Moon sent 3 million won in donations to Oh Joong-gi, the Democratic Party candidate for North Gyeongsang governor who served as a Blue House administrative officer during Moon's tenure, but that, too, was disclosed by Oh's camp, and Moon did not issue a separate message.
In political circles, many believe Moon's experience of stumping in the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam area during the last general election, only to see Democratic Party candidates lose instead, negatively affected his calculus.
A Democratic Party official in South Gyeongsang said, "Ahead of this local election, there was a strong negative current within the party about a role for former President Moon," adding, "Former President Moon seems to have accepted this mood and chosen not to take the forefront in this election."