[Report] Voting Lines Stretch Along the Commute... Where Is the Vote Going?

'Real Estate Public Sentiment' Read in Mapo, Lukewarm Sentiment in Guro, Ethical Concerns in Gangnam

On the 7th, citizens lined up at the 5th polling station in Guro 5-dong, Guro-gu, Seoul to cast their votes in the April 7 Seoul mayoral by-election. (Photo by Asia Economy DB)

"I came to the polling station thinking about why this election is being held."

"I hope an honest candidate who does not lie becomes the leader to lead a new Seoul."

On the main voting day of the April 7 by-election, citizens met at polling stations in Seoul’s Mapo-gu, Guro-gu, Gangnam-gu, and other districts expressed quite specific aspirations about how they want to change Seoul through this election. Due to the election being held on a weekday, the footsteps of office workers did not stop in the morning.

◆Keyword 'Real Estate Public Sentiment' Seen in Mapo= At 6 a.m., at a polling station in Dohwa-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul. Office workers trying to vote on their way to work and elderly voters kept coming in and out of the polling station. Surrounded by large apartment complexes with over 1,000 households, the public sentiment here was focused on real estate, the key issue of this by-election. The early voting turnout in Mapo-gu was 22.54%, up 3.51 percentage points compared to the 2018 local elections. Seo Hong-pyo (56), who came out after voting, said, "The ruling party did not implement proper supply policies, which caused housing prices to rise like this," adding, "If candidate Oh Se-hoon becomes mayor, I expect supply to increase and housing prices to stabilize through redevelopment and reconstruction." Another voter, Park Geum-rye (67), said, "It is wrong to see all real estate investment as speculation," and added, "I came out to vote because I want to change the irrational real estate policies." Near the polling station, at Mapo Station on Seoul Subway Line 5, banners were hung by Park Young-sun of the Democratic Party and Oh Se-hoon of the People Power Party with slogans such as ‘A Mayor Who Works Well’ and ‘Promoting Reconstruction of A, B Apartments.’

On the 7th, citizens are waiting to vote at the 6th polling station in Dohwa-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul. (Photo by Asia Economy DB)

◆Although Called 'Guro Park,' Local Sentiment is Lukewarm= Candidate Park, who succeeded in winning three terms only in Guro-eul, always expresses affection for Guro. On the first day of the by-election campaign, Park visited Sindorim Station for a rally and wrote a handwritten letter on an online community the day before, referring to herself as ‘Your Guro Park.’ Kim Hong-su (40) said, "I dislike the opposition party, so I will cast my vote for the ruling party." Go Mo (42) explained, "Oh candidate did not perform well during his previous term as Seoul mayor, but I chose him as the lesser evil because I think he is better than Park candidate."

However, the local sentiment was not entirely warm toward candidate Park. Oh Mo (65) said, "Housing prices have risen a lot, and life has become very difficult, so I think changing once might be a way." Kim Mo (34) also said, "Since I got voting rights, I have always voted for the Democratic Party, but this time I really thought a lot," adding, "Between a candidate who makes populist promises and a candidate with a poor past record, I ended up choosing the one I disliked less." Some citizens expressed anger about the reason this by-election is being held. Son Yoo-ra (25) said, "Since this vote is being held due to the previous mayor’s sexual misconduct, I decided to definitely cast my vote." Kang Na-eun (27), who came to the polling station while working from home, said, "I came to the polling station thinking about why this election is being held," adding, "No matter who becomes mayor, I hope they can solve the structurally embedded sexual violence issues in society."

◆In Gangnam, Oh Se-hoon’s Former District, ‘Morality’ is a Major Concern= Voters in Suseo-dong, part of Oh candidate’s former district (Gangnam-eul) when he was a first-term lawmaker in the 16th National Assembly, considered morality the most important voting criterion. This seems to be influenced by ongoing negative campaigns such as the ‘Saengtaetang controversy.’ Kim Mo (72), met at the first polling station in Suseo-dong, said, "I came to the polling station to judge the hypocrisy and the LH scandal." Joo Mo (70) also said, "I hope an honest candidate who does not lie becomes the leader to lead a new Seoul." Voters here also reacted sensitively to real estate policies. Park Mo (73), who came to the polling station with his wife, said, "The government and Seoul city’s excessive intervention in real estate policies has increased taxes and made living more difficult," adding, "I cast my vote for a candidate who would not cause pain due to housing prices and taxes."

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