Despite the massive COVID-19 surge, are the campaign sites crowded with 'Gureum-inpa' safe?

Presidential Election Campaign Sites Raise Concerns as Omicron Spreads
Health Authorities Urge Strict Compliance with Quarantine Rules at Campaign Sites

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate (left), and Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party presidential candidate, are rehearsing before the start of the 2022 presidential candidate invitation debate jointly hosted by six broadcasting companies and organized by the Korea Journalists Association at the Maeil Business Newspaper Media Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 11th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] As the spread of COVID-19 intensifies, red lights have turned on for presidential candidates' nationwide campaigns. Because the transmission power of Omicron is so strong, there is a risk that group infections could occur during campaigns no matter how careful they are. Recently, as the number of new COVID-19 cases exceeded 100,000, these concerns have grown even larger. The quarantine authorities also emphasized the need to strictly follow quarantine rules at campaign sites.

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, and Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party presidential candidate, have been expanding their contact with voters by touring campaign sites nationwide since the first official day of election campaigning on the 15th. They appealed for support from voters while visiting Seoul, Daejeon, Daegu, Busan, and other cities.

The problem is that such face-to-face campaigns could become a trigger for the spread of COVID-19. Campaign sites are crowded with supporters gathered to see the presidential candidates. Although most of them wear masks, the fact that many people gather at once and cheer could become another spark for a surge in confirmed cases.

Another issue is that no special quarantine rules are applied at campaign sites. The quarantine authorities do not apply quarantine rules at campaign sites because it is difficult to check the number of participants.

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, is appealing for support at the 'President Kim Dae-jung, We Miss You' campaign rally held on the 18th at Peace Square in Mokpo, Jeollanam-do.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

In this situation, each party is paying close attention to quarantine measures on its own. Shin Hyun-young, a member of the Democratic Party and head of the COVID-19 Emergency Response Headquarters' COVID Situation Room, said at a briefing on the 16th, "The central campaign team has established a system where members self-check and self-report their health status daily through rapid antigen tests, and the regional campaign teams have also designated quarantine officers by region to build a cooperative system that can respond quickly in emergencies."

She added, "We continuously recommend 'quarantine that protects myself' by emphasizing mask-wearing and hand hygiene at campaign sites, and we have established a hotline so that rapid testing can be done quickly if suspicious symptoms such as fever, cough, or sore throat occur by contacting the quarantine officer. Also, we have equipped emergency kits including rapid antigen test kits, thermometers, and antipyretics at the sites to be used when necessary," she emphasized.

The People Power Party's campaign headquarters also created '10 Safety Rules During the Election Period' to prevent safety accidents and distributed them nationwide to city and provincial party offices under the name of campaign headquarters chief Kwon Young-se. The rules include ▲social distancing to prevent accidents caused by crowding ▲securing rest time for campaign teams ▲prohibition of speeding and slow driving at campaign sites, among other contents.

However, candidate Yoon recently sparked controversy by not wearing a mask at some speech events. In response, candidate Lee said at a campaign in Cheonggye Plaza near Gwanghwamun Station in Seoul on the 17th, "If you take off your mask like someone else, the mask won't fit properly, but since we agreed with the people, we have to follow it," adding, "Even if it's a little uncomfortable, we must follow the rules we agreed on for the country to run properly."

Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, raises both hands in response to the cheers of supporters during the "Let's Set the Country Right" campaign rally held around Dongmyoap Station in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 17th.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

As the Omicron spread intensifies and election campaigns face setbacks, candidates from both ruling and opposition parties appear to be considering various non-face-to-face campaign methods.

The Democratic Party is promoting a 'Drive-in' style campaign using cars. Candidate Lee gives speeches to supporters gathered while riding in a car at outdoor campaign sites.

Candidate Yoon's side plans to start the '2gether' campaign through social networking services (SNS). '2gether' is a combination of Yoon's candidate number '2' and the word 'together.' It will be conducted on the 22nd at 10 p.m. by posting photos reminiscent of the number 2 or the digit 2 on SNS or mobile phone wallpapers.

Some argue that instead of face-to-face campaigns, which raise concerns about COVID-19 spread, the number of TV debates should be increased. They want to learn more accurately about candidates' policies and visions through TV debates.

According to a survey conducted by Realmeter on behalf of Energy Economy Newspaper from the 4th to 5th among 1,015 people aged 18 and over nationwide, 53.9% answered that the number of presidential candidate TV debates should be increased when asked, "Do you think the number of presidential candidate TV debates should be increased?" 40.0% answered that there is no need to increase.

The margin of error for this survey is ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. Samples were extracted by random digit dialing (RDD) with 95% wireless and 5% wired samples, and an automated response survey was conducted with a response rate of 9.2%. For detailed information, refer to the Central Election Survey Deliberation Commission website.

Meanwhile, the quarantine authorities requested strict compliance with quarantine rules at campaign sites. Son Young-rae, head of the Social Strategy Division of the Central Accident Response Headquarters, said at a regular briefing of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters on the 16th, "I understand that each party is making thorough efforts to comply with quarantine rules as much as possible during election campaigns," and emphasized, "We ask that basic quarantine rules be followed at campaign sites."

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