Democratic Party Busan Election Head: "New Airport Confirmed, Kim Young-choon Decided... Worth Trying"

Recent Poll Shows Democratic Party Leading People Power Party in Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam

Jeon Jae-su, Member of the Democratic Party of Korea./Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] The Democratic Party of Korea is showing determination and judgment that it is "worth trying" not only in Seoul but also in Busan in the local government by-elections next April. It is a disadvantaged area where the party won only three seats in the last general election, and after the sexual misconduct scandal involving former Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don surfaced, there was a strong sentiment of "Since it won't work anyway, let's not even field a candidate."

However, the Democratic Party changed its party rules to field a candidate, and with the realization of the construction of the Southeast region new airport, the biggest local issue, there is an expectation that if voters focus on the future vision, it will be advantageous for the ruling party. Kim Young-choon, the Secretary-General of the National Assembly and the biggest political figure in the Busan area, is reportedly already determined to run.

Jeon Jae-soo, a member of the National Assembly and head of the Democratic Party's Busan election planning team, said in a phone interview with Asia Economy on the 16th, "Once the full-scale election campaign begins, there is a strong tendency to judge based on future change and expectations rather than past responsibility disputes," adding, "It is worth trying."

He continued, "I understand that Secretary-General Kim Young-choon has made up his mind to run, and it seems he will compete within the party with former lawmaker Kim Hae-young and Busan city council member Park In-young." Some speculate that Jeon himself might run, but he dismissed this, saying, "We have to hold a local by-election, so how could I do that? I will not run."

In a recent interview with a Busan local media outlet, Secretary-General Kim said, "I have said that it was time to apologize, but now that the Democratic Party has decided to nominate a candidate, I cannot help but worry," adding, "Every time I go to Busan, I will meet citizens and party members to ask and seek advice on what to do."

Regarding Secretary-General Kim, although allegations of involvement in the Lime scandal have surfaced, he is strongly denying them. The Democratic Party has also emphasized its policy not to be shaken by false claims. On the 12th, Kim filed a defamation lawsuit against a media company that reported on former Star Mobility Chairman Kim Bong-hyun. He criticized, "There is a dark force that disturbs the world with baseless fake news."

Secretary General of the National Assembly Kim Young-chun. / Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Lee Nak-yeon, leader of the Democratic Party, said at an on-site supreme council meeting held in Busan on the 4th, "I repeatedly apologize to the citizens of Busan," and added, "Please understand our sincerity and agony, and judge well the policies and vision we will present in the future."

The Southeast region new airport is considered a 'big card' that the ruling party can put forward in the Busan area. Jeon said, "We have worked for four years to change the irresponsible decision made by the Park Geun-hye administration, and it ultimately resulted in building the Gadeokdo New Airport," adding, "I understand that the expansion of Gimhae Airport has already been concluded as inappropriate in terms of safety, environment, and noise by each subcommittee. Only the announcement of the verification committee under the Prime Minister's Office remains."

Secretary-General Kim also recently emphasized the necessity through Facebook, saying, "The Southeast region gateway airport is a matter of 'life or death' for the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam (BUK) area." After losing in the last general election, he said in an interview with a media outlet, "We could not give hope for the future. If only the construction of the Gadeokdo Southeast region new airport had been realized, the Busan election would have been won."

Looking at the vote shares by region in the last general election, the Democratic Party had 44.0% in Busan, while the then United Future Party (now People Power Party) had 52.9%. However, recent various opinion polls show that the Democratic Party is leading the People Power Party by up to 10 percentage points in the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam area. Even in Realmeter, where the Democratic Party's support rate is relatively low, the survey conducted from the 9th to the 13th showed that the Democratic Party (30%) slightly led the People Power Party (29%) within the margin of error in the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam region.

Jeon said, "We have repeatedly apologized due to the unfortunate incident involving former Mayor Oh Keo-don," adding, "However, considering that former Mayor Oh also ran as an independent, there seems to be public opinion that views it more as a personal deviation than a Democratic Party issue."

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