All-out war for Yeonggwang and Gokseong county governor re-election
“If the results of the October by-election turn out strangely, the entire Democratic Party leadership could be in crisis.” (Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea)
“Even if we compete, let’s not hurt each other’s feelings or engage in words or actions that encourage our supporters to fight each other.” (Cho Kuk, the leader of the Fatherland Innovation Party)
The by-election for the county mayors of Yeonggwang and Gokseong in South Jeolla Province, to be held on October 16, is escalating into an all-out war between the leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea and the Fatherland Innovation Party.
After campaigning in Yeonggwang on this day for Yeonggwang County Governor candidate Jang Se-il and Gokseong County Governor candidate Cho Sang-rae, the representative held a meeting of the Supreme Council and said, “(This election) has the character of a stern second warning to the Yoon Seok-yeol administration that even small local battles are a warning,” and “This is an opportunity to show that even local governments where the Democratic Party has been in power for a long time are different.” He appealed for support in Honam, the Democratic Party’s stronghold.
Recently, the party has continued to check the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, which has been trying to solidify regional support by living in a “Honam rented house.” Representative Lee pointed out that candidate Jang Hyun, who left the Democratic Party and ran as the Cho Kuk Innovation Party candidate, “He escaped the competitive system because he thought his chances of being nominated were low. If we continue like this, democracy cannot be established.” Supreme Council member Joo Chul-hyun also criticized, “A candidate who only appears during elections and then disappears is not qualified to run as a Yeonggwang candidate.” Floor leader Park Chan-dae also emphasized, “The party with the strongest ability and will to secure a budget for the development of Yeonggwang and Gokseong is the Democratic Party, which has 170 members.”
The reason the Democratic Party is mobilizing all of its leadership to launch a full-scale campaign is because if it loses this election, it will inevitably deal a blow to the leadership of Lee Jae-myung’s second term. A Democratic Party official said, “With Representative Lee’s ‘judicial risk’ reignited, if he loses Honam, which is like his ‘home turf’, in the first election held under the second term, it will have a significant impact on the 2026 local elections.”
In response, Cho Kuk’s representative also directly countered. Cho held a Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly and said, “Who would like it if the Cho Kuk Innovation Party and the Democratic Party got into a brawl? The answer is obvious.” Then, regarding the Democratic Party’s Supreme Council member Kim Min-seok’s public criticism the day before, pointing out that the Cho Kuk Innovation Party had been absent from the plenary session and campaigning in the region, calling it “sour water,” Cho asked, “There are many people in Honam who hope for political innovation and new choices, so how can responding to this desire be ‘sour water?’” Cho Kuk Innovation Party lawmaker Kim Sun-min also said, “I have no intention of becoming a ‘five-minute standby’ for the Democratic Party.”
The Fatherland Innovation Party has also gone all-in on this election as its approval rating has stagnated after failing to form a negotiating group after the general election. A party official said, “We must use this by-election as a stepping stone to transform into a regionally-based party rather than a proportional representation party.”
Reporter Seungwoo Lee [email protected]
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2024-09-24 21:57:32