[On-site in] "Came to vote for Lee to erase one vote for Yoon" "Chose No. 2 because I dislike the ruling party"... Diverging Seoul public opinion in the 'biggest battleground'

Lee Jae-myung Courts Seoul Voters on the 6th
Persistent 'Tense Stand-off'
Mixed On-site Public Sentiment in Sinchon, Dobong, and Others
Seoul Early Voting Rate at 37.23%

Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] At 4:20 p.m. on the 6th, in the plaza in front of Sinchon U-Plex, hundreds of people had gathered in front of the Democratic Party of Korea's campaign vehicle. It was a crowd waiting for candidate Lee Jae-myung. To the campaign music saying, "Run vigorously. Lee Jae-myung, a thousand times for the people," citizens chanted "Lee Jae-myung! Lee Jae-myung!"

At 4:50 p.m., when candidate Lee raised his right hand high and appeared, cheers of "Wow~" erupted from all around. That day, candidate Lee appeared wearing a half coat and sneakers. He greeted the citizens on the T-shaped stage. When he clenched his fist and raised only his thumb, citizens shouted, "Number 1, Lee Jae-myung." When he bent his arms to make a "heart" sign, applause poured out. Candidate Lee bent his thumb, extended his index finger again, then folded and unfolded both arms, and supporters moved balloons and cheering sticks. When he took off his coat, shouts of "Cool," "Handsome," and "Swag~" broke out.

Supporters who came to the Dobong and Sinchon campaign sites that day expressed their support for candidate Lee by holding hand-drawn sketchbooks and placards. At the Sinchon campaign, members of President Moon Jae-in's fan cafe "Moonfan" held a banner saying, "We strongly support Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung for regime re-creation." Some citizens waved sketchbooks with messages like "Lee Jae-myung President, please win" and "We love President Lee Jae-myung." Near the Dobong campaign site, a citizen held a paper saying, "Yoon Seok-yeol investigation fabrication, wife stock manipulation, father sale manipulation," shouting, "We must not elect Yoon Seok-yeol!" Placards about the climate crisis and pet protection were also seen.

On the last weekend before the presidential election, the 6th, Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party candidate, toured the Seoul area (Dobong, Seongbuk, Eunpyeong, Sinchon, Gwanak, Dongjak, Yongsan) densely from 1:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., courting the Seoul electorate, the "largest battleground."

Seoul, with 8,336,646 voters (18.9% of the total), is a place where the political landscape is rapidly changing due to the April 7 by-elections and real estate issues. Historically, Seoul has been classified as a Democratic Party-friendly region in presidential elections. Except for the 17th presidential election when former President Lee Myung-bak was elected (Seoul vote share 51.30%), the Democratic Party has held Seoul in all other presidential elections (15th Kim Dae-jung 44.87%, 16th Roh Moo-hyun 51.30%, 18th Moon Jae-in 51.42%, 19th Moon Jae-in 42.34%).

However, after a crushing defeat to Oh Se-hoon, the unified opposition candidate for Seoul mayor in the April 7 by-election last year (57.50% vote share), public sentiment began to tilt toward the opposition. Mayor Oh swept all 25 autonomous districts in Seoul, decisively defeating ruling party candidate Park Young-sun (39.18%). This was the exact opposite of the 2018 June 13 local elections when the Democratic Party won in 24 districts except Seocho-gu. In three years, the political landscape of the "capital Seoul" has been completely overturned. Due to the real estate public sentiment backlash, a significant number of voters turned their backs.

The reactions of citizens met by this reporter at candidate Lee's campaign sites were sharply divided. Mr. Park (55), met in front of the Myeongmul-gil PC room, said, "Compared to when Yoon Seok-yeol came in front of Hyundai Department Store on March 1st, there are fewer people and less excitement." He added, "I saw on YouTube that Lee Jae-myung lived in a 60-pyeong apartment from his 30s," and waved his hand, saying, "Because of the real estate issue, I just can't bring myself to support the Democratic Party." A citizen who said he lives near Daehung Station said, "I dislike the Democratic Party's double standards. I don't dislike Lee Jae-myung, but I dislike the Democratic Party, so I voted for candidate Yoon."

Ms. Kim (23), met in front of a bingsoo shop on Yonsei-ro, said, "I was going not to vote, but I went for early voting yesterday to erase one vote for Yoon Seok-yeol," adding, "Neither Yoon Seok-yeol nor Lee Jae-myung appealed to me, but I think candidate Lee is better than candidate Yoon." Mr. Cho (45), who held a placard saying "Good rituals by day, drinking parties by night, a choice that ruins the country" in Sinchon while chanting "Lee Jae-myung," said, "I couldn't sleep when Ahn Cheol-soo unified with the opposition," and added, "I think political change is more necessary than regime change." He said, "Sinchon has long been a neighborhood where tear gas often exploded, so interest in democracy is high," and said he voted for candidate Lee, saying, "We cannot have a prosecution republic."

In his speech that day, candidate Lee also tried to differentiate himself on the Democratic Party's "painful mistake" in real estate policy. He said, "We will drastically reform tax, finance, and transaction systems centered on actual demand," adding, "Housing for actual demand is an essential good different from speculative use, so we will ease financial restrictions to make borrowing easier, and change transaction systems to support one household, one house, definitely changing it, everyone."

Regarding housing supply, he emphasized, "I am a market-respecting marketist," and said, "We will steadily and sufficiently supply good apartments in locations desired by demanders, with 'solid' parking spaces." He also said, "We will introduce a public management system to prevent corruption among redevelopment and reconstruction association heads," and added, "Currently, there are only three types, but we will create a fourth general residential area allowing up to 500% floor area ratio, and supply the increased housing as tenant housing, youth housing, or public housing, making everyone happy."

Meanwhile, according to the National Election Commission, over two days from the 4th, 16,323,602 of the 44,197,692 voters nationwide participated in early voting (final turnout rate 36.93%). Among them, Seoul's turnout was 37.23%, exceeding the national average turnout rate.

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