Interpretation of 'Ajeoninsu' Early Voting... Oh: "Great Enthusiasm, Relief and Gratitude" vs Park: "Many Supporters Went to Polling Stations"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] Regarding the early voting rate for the April 7 by-elections, held over two days on the 2nd and 3rd, which recorded the highest level in the history of by-elections, Park Young-sun, the Democratic Party candidate, and Oh Se-hoon, the People Power Party candidate, each offered self-serving interpretations.

Democratic Party Seoul mayoral candidate Park Young-sun and People Power Party Seoul mayoral candidate Oh Se-hoon pose before the start of the Korean Broadcasting Reporters Club invited Seoul mayoral by-election candidates debate held at the Yecheong Hall in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul on the 5th. Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers Group

At a TV debate hosted by the Korea Broadcasting Reporters Club on the 5th, when asked by the moderator about the record-high early voting rate in the history of by-elections, the two candidates interpreted it in ways favorable to themselves.

Candidate Park said, "I believe many supporters went to the polling stations," emphasizing, "I ask you to make Seoul a city where sincerity defeats falsehood."

Candidate Oh also said, "I am truly relieved by the tremendous enthusiasm shown in voting," adding, "In fact, after the general election, many right-wing supporters were worried due to suspicions of election fraud, and I assumed those people have not yet come out to vote. Nevertheless, the high turnout is really fortunate from my perspective."

The early voting rate conducted on the 2nd and 3rd was recorded at 20.54%, the highest in the history of by-elections. Although it did not reach the 26.69% early voting rate of the last general election, it surpassed the 20.14% recorded during the 7th local elections.

Both ruling and opposition parties expect the high early voting rate to bring favorable results for themselves.

On the same day, Choi In-ho, the chief spokesperson of the Democratic Party’s Central Election Committee, appeared on the radio and said, "Moderate voters who supported the Democratic Party candidate were quite critical of the government and ruling party due to the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) speculation scandal just before or at the beginning of the election, but as the election progressed, disappointment toward candidates Oh Se-hoon and Park Hyung-joon grew significantly. Given that the early voting took place under these circumstances, I believe our party’s candidates won by a large margin."

On the other hand, Kim Jong-in, the emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, dismissed the high turnout as "an expression of anger toward the government." At the Central Election Committee meeting held at the National Assembly that day, Chairman Kim said, "The ruling party claims that the turnout increased because their consolidated supporters participated in large numbers, but in my view, the public is well aware of the Moon Jae-in administration’s failures over the past four years and the reasons why this by-election is being held." He added, "I hope they keep in mind that the public is very well aware that the sexual harassment scandals involving Mayor Park Won-soon and Mayor Oh Keo-don led to this by-election."

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