As the traveling primary to elect the next leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea was held in the Honam region on the 15th, at the Jeonbuk leg, candidates Kim Min-seok and Jung Chung-rae each moved to win Jeonbuk voters in different ways. Kim put forward a plan for Jeonbuk's industrial development, while Jung called himself "a son of Jeonbuk" and pursued a strategy appealing to "underdog" sentiment.
At the joint rally for Jeonbuk held on the afternoon of the 15th at the Culture and Sports Gym of Wonkwang University in Iksan, Kim unveiled a plan to boost Jeonbuk's industrial competitiveness centered on Saemangeum. Kim said, "In the 21st-century West Coast era, I believed regional imbalances would certainly be reversed," and, "I believed that one day Saemangeum would become a new industrial special zone not only for Jeonbuk but for Korea, Asia and the world."
He went on, "We will push to include Jeonbuk in the second and third mega projects, and we will work to attract to Saemangeum the AI investment the United States is interested in," adding, "Because I have already told Premier Li Qiang about dispatching a Saemangeum investment survey team that the president has already asked President Xi Jinping for, I will ask again and make sure to bring U.S. and Chinese investment to Saemangeum."
Kim also expressed his intent to create a new growth engine centered on Saemangeum rather than defining Jeonbuk as a marginalized region. He said, "I will not talk about marginalization," and, "I will independently craft Jeonbuk's megaproject that breaks Saemangeum's three generations, and I will become the world-class chief salesman of Saemangeum, 'Mr. Saemangeum.'"
By contrast, Jung chose an "underdog strategy" that highlights himself as a candidate at a relative disadvantage. He said, "(My mother) was born in 1921 during the Japanese occupation in Sambong-ri, Unju-myeon, Wanju-gun, Jeollabuk-do. At 16, she crossed Daedunsan, walked 40 ri, married into my father's family, and gave birth to me as the 10th child. I think of my mother. I am Jung Chung-rae, a son of Jeonbuk."
He continued, "I thank the residents of Jeonbuk State," and, "Thank you for electing Governor Lee Won-taeg, and truly thank you for electing 100% Democratic Party in all 14 cities and counties. Residents of Jeonbuk, I love you."
He also said, "Voting is one person, one vote, so I wish the fight and the competition were one-on-one," adding, "I've been beaten 2-to-1, 3-to-1, 4-to-1, 5-to-1 and made it this far," and emphasized, "I have run this far trusting only the party members' will and only the public sentiment."
Meanwhile, party members backing each candidate mounted passionate cheering battles. Around 5 p.m. that day, when Jung entered the Culture and Sports Gym at Wonkwang University, supporters holding yellow pinwheels symbolizing "Nosamo," along with flags and placards supporting Jung, surrounded him shouting "'Al-jeong-jjip ("Got it, I'll vote for Jung Chung-rae")'."
Supporters backing Kim also greeted him with applause as he entered waving. Reflecting the strong support Kim has shown in Honam, his camp beat drums in support and otherwise enjoyed the party convention like a festival.
The results of the Honam rights party members' vote, to be announced at 7:15 p.m. that day, account for 32.9% of all rights party members (about 510,000 people) and are expected to be the key watershed that will decide the Aug. 17 party convention landscape.
So far, Kim has 46.01%, leading Jung (44.53%) by 1.48 percentage points (p), but the gap between the two is only 3,086 votes.
The final result for party leader will be announced on the 17th at Daejeon Convention Center after the 16th primary in the capital area (Seoul and Gyeonggi).