In Jongno's 'Big 2', a Multi-Candidate Race Expected with Son Hak-gyu and Gonghwadan Candidates

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] The Jongno district, known as the "political number one area," appears to be shifting to a multi-candidate race. With former Bareunmirae Party leader Sohn Hak-kyu and a Liberty Republican Party candidate joining, the two-way contest between Lee Nak-yeon, co-chairman of the Democratic Party's joint campaign committee, and Hwang Kyo-ahn, leader of the United Future Party, is expected to face new variables. This situation is particularly troublesome for Hwang, who is trailing in public opinion polls.

On the 10th, a Liberty Republican Party official stated, "Han Min-ho, former director of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, who was recruited as our top talent, is preparing to run in Jongno," adding, "We are trying to discuss unification with the United Future Party to form a major opposition party, as per former President Park Geun-hye's prison message, but there has been no response. If this continues, competition with the United Future Party in the district is inevitable."

The United Future Party nominated Kim Yong-pan, former chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, on the 6th for Daegu Dalseo-byeong, the district of Jo Won-jin, co-representative of the Liberty Republican Party. The Liberty Republican Party views this as a refusal to unify and criticized, "We will field candidates in all regions nationwide. The stigma and responsibility of conservative division must be borne entirely by the United Future Party and leader Hwang Kyo-ahn." When recruiting former director Han in January, the Republican Party introduced him as "a true public servant of the Republic of Korea who was dismissed by the Moon Jae-in administration after speaking candidly and standing firm against anti-Japanese agitation and the nuclear phase-out policy."

Within the Minsheng Party, calls for former leader Sohn to run in Jongno are growing louder. On the 8th, about 30 candidates and regional committee heads outside the National Assembly issued a statement saying, "Party leaders with presidential candidate-level experience and vision, such as former leader Sohn Hak-kyu, must lead the election with dedication and sacrifice." This strongly criticized speculation that Sohn would be listed as a proportional representation candidate.

Former leader Sohn's residence is also in Jongno. He is expected to decide his course of action within this week. Although the possibility of Sohn winning in this fiercely contested battleground among the most prominent next presidential candidates is extremely slim, his mere participation could maximize the Minsheng Party's promotional effect.

According to a public opinion poll conducted by Hankook Research on behalf of Hankook Ilbo from the 1st to 2nd, 49.6% of respondents said they would vote for Lee, overwhelmingly surpassing Hwang's 27.7%. The survey used 3.4% landline and 96.6% mobile samples, with a response rate of 14.4%. For more details, please refer to the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website.

The Liberty Republican Party candidate is bound to eat into Hwang's votes. Sohn's candidacy in Jongno is expected to attract some moderate voters. An Ilwon, CEO of Research View, said, "The biggest task for the United Future Party and leader Hwang in this general election is to create a two-party structure to highlight the argument for regime judgment," adding, "A multi-candidate race in Jongno is a factor that makes things more unfavorable for leader Hwang."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.