[Honam Minshim-eun] Gwangju Seo-gu Eul "Minshim Tilts" vs "Reversal by Inmullon"

Democratic Party's Yang Hyang-ja "Regional Economic Recovery"
People's Livelihood Party's Cheon Jeong-bae "First-term Lawmakers Can't Do It"

Yang Hyang-ja, the Democratic Party candidate running for Gwangju Seo-gu Eul in the April 15 general election, is greeting residents after work at the Pungamgyo Intersection on the 7th.

[Gwangju=Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Seo-gu Eul in Gwangju Metropolitan City is a district where Cheon Jeong-bae, the candidate of the Minsheng Party, and Yang Hyang-ja, the candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, are having a rematch. In the 20th general election, candidate Cheon won 54.52% of the votes, defeating candidate Yang (31.48%) and succeeded in being elected for the sixth term. However, the current atmosphere is completely the opposite. Candidate Yang is leading candidate Cheon by a large margin in public opinion polls. According to a public opinion poll conducted by TV Chosun, commissioned to Matrix Research, on the 4th among 500 men and women aged 18 or older residing in Seo-gu Eul, Gwangju (response rate 24%, margin of error ±4.4 percentage points at a 95% confidence level), candidate Yang received 63.2%, and candidate Cheon received 20.4%. For more details, refer to the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website.

On the 7th, at Uncheon Lake Park in Seo-gu, Gwangju, Shim (30) said, "Regardless of age, it's the Democratic Party," adding, "(In the past) I even tried voting for others, but I was very disappointed with the People’s Party." The public sentiment in Gwangju, which overwhelmingly supported the People’s Party in the last general election, has now completely shifted to the Democratic Party. This was partly due to resentment over the failure of the People’s Party. Housewife Kim (56) said, "They are all the same. Ahn Cheol-soo, the leader of the People’s Party, seemed fine at the time, but I felt, 'Ah, it's not right after all,'" and added, "I will vote for the Democratic Party." Park (67), who lives in Sangmu 2-dong, said, "Candidate Cheon is good too, but I support candidate Yang," and evaluated, "She worked at Samsung and other places, and as a woman, she is sharp."

Amid the Democratic Party’s dominance, a focus on 'personal qualities' of candidate Cheon was also detected. Taxi driver Shin (72) said, "Candidate Yang is advantaged because she wears the party's clothes well, but in terms of personal qualities, candidate Cheon is better," adding, "(In 2016) the People’s Party was popular, but people don’t like the Minsheng Party." Self-employed Lee (45) also said, "In terms of personal qualities, it’s candidate Cheon, but (candidate Yang) has the party behind her, so there is a difference in support rates," and predicted, "People gather to talk about elections, but due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), this situation seems to be solidifying."

Cheon Jeong-bae, the Minsaengdang candidate running for Gwangju Seo-gu Eul in the April 15 general election, is meeting and talking with residents at Uncheon Lake Park on the 7th.

Candidate Cheon conducted his campaign wearing a white jumper instead of the Minsheng Party’s symbolic green color. In an interview with Asia Economy that day, candidate Cheon said, "(The grassroots sentiment) is rapidly rising. In the end, I will win. I am also the person who best supports the Moon Jae-in administration," adding, "If the Democratic Party sweeps everything, it will purely be first-term lawmakers. Can regional development happen immediately like that?"

Candidate Yang emphasized that she is the candidate who will revive the local economy with the slogan "This time, Democratic Party, this time, Yang Hyang-ja." Candidate Yang said, "(The gap in support rates) will widen more and more over time," and added, "The economy is Yang Hyang-ja. This time, please firmly support President Moon Jae-in and former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon’s number one candidate, and since you will elect me anyway, please support me perfectly so that I can play a big role."

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