[Politics, That Day...] Presidential Candidates' Home Advantage, Profitable 'Gohyang Premium'

Regional Front-Runners, Party Primary Sweep Variables... Primary Race Changes if Dae-mangron Protagonist Emerges
2012 Minjootonghapdang Primary, Jeonbuk Strong for Jeong Se-gyun, Gyeongnam for Kim Du-gwan

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min]

Editor's Note‘Politics, On That Day...’ is a series that looks back on Korean politics through the ‘recollection of memories’ related to notable scenes, events, and figures that deserve attention.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In Korean politics, ‘region’ is an indispensable key variable that determines the outcome. Although the extreme confrontation between Yeongnam and Honam regions has eased compared to the past, region remains the election strategy that presidential candidates focus on the most.

The phrases such as a figure representing Yeongnam, representing Honam, or representing Chungcheong are the most preferred expressions by politicians. When someone emerges as the protagonist of the so-called ‘great expectation theory,’ they can literally receive a landslide vote in a specific region.

A representative politician with regional representation is ‘Politician Kim Jong-pil.’ He is the only member among the ‘Three Kims’ era who did not become president. However, in the Chungcheong region, his influence in both presidential and general elections was considerable. Even now, the ‘JP nostalgia’ has not disappeared in Chungcheong.

Through the 1987 ‘Three Kims’ era, it was somewhat proven that merely representing a specific region does not easily lead to victory in a presidential election. It means that a candidate who records a certain level of votes nationwide and gains more votes in a specific region can reach the winning zone.

However, in the party primary for presidential candidates, the so-called ‘hometown premium’ can be a variable that determines the outcome. The so-called ‘home ground effect’ has been directly experienced by several presidential candidates. Among the current Democratic Party presidential candidates, there are those who have experienced a landslide vote in their political hometown.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The politicians Jeong Se-gyun and Kim Du-kwan are the protagonists.

They also competed in the Democratic United Party presidential primary 10 years ago in 2012.

The 2012 Democratic United Party primary was an election where candidate Moon Jae-in and candidate Sohn Hak-kyu were competing for the lead. Candidates Kim Du-kwan and Jeong Se-gyun competed in the 3rd to 4th place range, but the election results in specific regions were different.

Politician Jeong Se-gyun is a representative politician from Jeonbuk. Since becoming a member of the National Assembly for Jeonbuk Jinan-Muju-Jangsu in the 15th general election in 1996, he has been elected four times in that constituency. Jeonbuk, along with Gwangju and Jeonnam, is a core region with many Democratic Party members.

Then, what was the result of the 2012 Democratic United Party Jeonbuk primary? In Jeonbuk, held on September 1, 2012, candidate Moon Jae-in took first place with 16,350 votes (37.5%), but candidate Jeong Se-gyun’s vote share was also considerable.

Candidate Jeong Se-gyun received 11,556 votes (26.5%), placing second. Compared to his overall vote share of 7.0% nationwide, the strong performance in Jeonbuk was clear.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Candidate Kim Du-kwan experienced a strong home ground effect in Gyeongnam. Politician Kim Du-kwan is a grassroots politician who served as a village chief in Namhae County, Gyeongnam, and grew into a presidential candidate while serving as governor of Gyeongnam Province.

Candidate Kim Du-kwan pinned his hopes on the Democratic United Party Gyeongnam primary held on September 4, 2012. In fact, Kim Du-kwan performed well in Gyeongnam, receiving 11,381 votes (43.9%). Candidate Moon Jae-in took first place with 11,683 votes (45.1%), but Kim Du-kwan’s performance was also quite strong.

From Kim Du-kwan’s perspective, it was unfortunate that candidate Moon Jae-in also hails from Gyeongnam. The Gyeongnam votes were inevitably split. However, considering that Kim Du-kwan received 14.3% of the vote in the 2012 Democratic United Party primary overall, his strong showing in Gyeongnam is notable.

Then, how will the Democratic Party presidential primary unfold? It will be a point of interest to see how much vote share candidates such as Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung, former Jeonnam Province Governor Lee Nak-yeon, former Jeonbuk National Assembly member Jeong Se-gyun, former Gyeongnam Province Governor Kim Du-kwan, and Seoul National Assembly member Park Yong-jin secure in their respective political strongholds.

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