[4·15 General Election In-Depth Analysis] The Tumultuous Election History of Suncheon (Part 1)

Humiliation of the Democratic Party in Suncheon... Over a Decade of Division and Betrayal Prevail

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Chunsu] As the April 15 general election approaches, the region that has emerged as the most important focus in Jeonnam is Suncheon. More precisely, it is the Suncheon-Gwangyang-Gokseong-Gurye Gap electoral district.

Although the name of the electoral district is long, it corresponds to the entire city of Suncheon except for Haeryong-myeon. Regardless of strategic nominations and redistricting controversies, the Democratic Party has a humiliating history of defeat due to politics of division and betrayal over the past decade.

Fortunately, in the 19th presidential election, President Moon Jae-in's approval rating was the highest nationwide, and Heo Seok, the current mayor who ran as the Democratic Party candidate in the 7th mayoral election, was elected with overwhelming support. However, the general election still holds a bitter record of defeat.

Looking back at Suncheon's election history since the 2000s, the Democratic Party (including Uri Party, Democratic United Party, New Politics Alliance for Democracy) shows a turbulent history of division and repetition.

It began with the 17th general election held in April 2004. Roh Gwan-gyu of the Millennium Democratic Party (honorifics omitted hereafter) engaged in a full-scale contest with Seo Gap-won of the Uri Party, who was a junior alumnus from Suncheon Maesan High School, and Roh suffered a crushing defeat to his junior Seo, marking the start of a long-standing feud.

The contest between Roh, a former protocol secretary to President Roh Moo-hyun, and Seo, a former special prosecutor who rose to fame by arresting Chung Tae-soo, chairman of Hanbo Group, developed into a kind of pride battle, deepening the election aftermath. In a winner-takes-all election structure, even attacks between parent and child were unavoidable.

Roh Gwan-gyu overcame the pain of defeat in the 17th general election and made a comeback by winning a landslide victory against the Uri Party candidate supported by Seo Gap-won in the 4th mayoral election in May 2006. Although he made a comeback in the second round, the bitterness between them only deepened.

In 2006, as the participatory government entered its final phase, compounded by real estate policy failures and the lame-duck phenomenon, the ruling Uri Party and President Roh Moo-hyun's popularity began to decline. Consecutive defeats in by-elections and local elections caused the ruling party to lose its majority seats.

Feeling this crisis, reformist lawmakers like Cheon Jeong-bae and conservative lawmakers like Kim Han-gil defected one after another, founding the Centrist Reform Integration Party and the Centrist Integrated Democratic Party.

Subsequently, 80 defectors from the Uri Party, 4 defectors from the Centrist Integrated Democratic Party, some defectors from the Grand National Party led by former Gyeonggi Province Governor Sohn Hak-kyu, and civil society forces came together to launch the Democratic United New Party.

Ahead of the presidential election, Chung Dong-young emerged as the ruling party's presidential candidate but was defeated by Lee Myung-bak of the Grand National Party. Meanwhile, the old Donggyodong faction-centered Democratic Party welcomed Lee In-je, known as the "Phoenix," who ran as a presidential candidate and attempted to negotiate unification with Chung Dong-young but declared an independent path, rendering all efforts futile. In response, regional lawmakers like Cho Soon-hyung defected, leaving only proportional representatives like Kim Jong-in and Lee In-je.

After losing the presidential election, the Democratic United New Party declared a merger with the Democratic Party in February 2008, forming the Unified Democratic Party. In the subsequent 18th general election in 2008, the Grand National Party won a landslide victory with 153 seats, while Seo Gap-won, running as the Unified Democratic Party candidate, was re-elected in Suncheon.

Also, Mayor Roh Gwan-gyu, running for re-election as a Democratic Party member, lost the party primary in the 5th mayoral election held in June 2010 to Jo Bo-hoon, who was supported by Seo Gap-won's faction, and consequently defected to run as an independent.

Anticipating unfavorable outcomes in the primary process, Roh chose the bold move of defection but succeeded in winning re-election. His campaign promise at the time was to host the 2013 Suncheon Bay International Garden Expo.

Having already established a dedicated department for the garden expo since 2008 and obtained government approval, Roh, backed by public opinion, easily defeated Seo Gap-won, who opposed the expo, and Jo Bo-hoon, who ran as a rival candidate.

Seo Gap-won, who opposed and tried to block the 2013 Suncheon Bay International Garden Expo, was indicted and lost his parliamentary seat in connection with illegal political funds received from former Taekwang Industrial Chairman Park Yeon-cha, leading to a by-election in April 2011.

At that time, the Democratic United Party decided not to field a candidate and supported Kim Seon-dong of the Democratic Labor Party as a unified opposition candidate. As a result, six Democratic Party candidates defected and ran as independents.

However, Kim Seon-dong, benefiting from the unified opposition candidate advantage and support from the Hoengseong County hometown association, won overwhelmingly. From then on, the Democratic Party in Suncheon has had a dark history of failing to produce a member of the National Assembly, which continues up to this general election.

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