[On Site in] 'Conservative Heart' Daegu "Nine out of Ten Support Yoon" Behind the Scenes "TK Sweep, What's Improved?"

7th Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party Campaign at 'Daegu Duryu Park'
Lowest Early Voting Rate in Daegu... Lee Sings 'Song of Gyeongbuk Residents'

[Daegu = Reporter Gu Chae-eun] At 4:05 p.m. on the 7th, Duryu Park in Dalseo-gu, Daegu. Supporters who came to see Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, were standing in small groups in the plaza next to the 2.28 Memorial Tower. Banners reading “Daegu Gyeongbuk’s son Lee Jae-myung,” “Will you entrust the country to shamanism and Shincheonji?” and “Era of the Southern Metropolitan Area” caught the eye. Along the tree-lined entrance to the memorial tower, which is in the constituency of Kim Yong-pan, a member of the People Power Party (Dalseo-gu B), a banner saying “Civil Petitioners’ Day with Representative Kim Yong-pan” was hung.

At 4:11 p.m., when candidate Lee took the podium, Daegu citizens holding cheering sticks and balloons chanted “Lee Jae-myung!, Lee Jae-myung!” Every time the speech ended, one citizen responded by shouting “Hamo Hamo!” When candidate Lee sang the “Gyeongbuk Residents’ Song” during his speech, some citizens sang along.

The Daegu campaign site that day had fewer people gathered compared to earlier locations on the same day (Jeju Dongmu Rotary and Busan Changseon Samgeori). While the crowd at Changseon Samgeori was estimated at 5,000 people (according to the Democratic Party’s own estimate), the Daegu campaign site was estimated to have 1,500 people. Flags of organizations such as the “Peace Economy Solidarity Committee” and the “Basic Society Committee” were noticeable.

In his speech in Daegu, candidate Lee called out Representative Hong Joon-pyo. He said, “I will carry on all five Daegu-Gyeongbuk policies promised by People Power Party’s former (primary) candidate Hong Joon-pyo,” adding, “What copyright is there on policies? Let’s not divide people.” He also said that politics of regionalism and division must end. “If we keep criticizing others, causing division, hatred, and disgust, and digging into the past to regress, isn’t it obvious what will happen to that community?” he said. “I will strive for a true political change that is not just ‘new politics’ in words, but one that relinquishes vested interests and works together with the people.”

However, the public sentiment of Daegu citizens met near the campaign site that day was cold. One citizen watching candidate Lee’s campaign from under a street tree 200 meters away said, “There are all progressive people here, so we can’t even speak. They rise up like a swarm,” shaking his hand. He said, “Choo Mi-ae is from Namsan-dong here. Seeing how she fights and survives, Yoon Seok-youl is amazing. He has a great manly spirit. What is better about Lee Jae-myung than Yoon Seok-youl?”

Mr. Kim (81), whom we met in front of the fountain at Duryu Park, also said he could not understand why Representative Hong Joon-pyo does not support candidate Yoon. He said, “He should be walking arm in arm with Yoon Seok-youl. Then whatever he does later, it would be fine. That person is from Gyeongsang Province, so I don’t know why he has such an attitude.” He revealed that he is a Vietnam War veteran and showed discomfort about the 5.18 Special Act passed by the Democratic Party in 2018. He said, “The list of veterans should be disclosed. What can you do with 180 seats? Even our branch chiefs all decided to support Yoon Seok-youl.”

There was also a citizen who said that a rumor circulated in group chat rooms that former President Park Geun-hye supported candidate Yoon. Mr. Shin (66), who has driven a taxi in Daegu for 20 years, said, “There was a message going around saying ‘I’m fine, so change the regime.’ Whether it’s true or not, Daegu is still conservative. When I pick up passengers, nine out of ten are all for Yoon Seok-youl.” He also appealed that the Daegu taxi industry is on the brink of collapse due to quarantine measures. “Daegu has too many taxis supplied nationwide, so it’s the worst place. Everyone is getting rid of their cars and it’s chaos. When passengers get in, many say, ‘Sir, please vote well. The country is being ruined.’ Out of ten passengers, nine support Yoon Seok-youl, and I haven’t seen anyone who says to vote for Lee Jae-myung.”

There were also citizens who said that public sentiment in Daegu has been changing recently. One citizen met at candidate Lee’s campaign said, “Daegu is an educational city with many good universities, so it shouldn’t foolishly keep giving all its votes to the People Power Party.” He said, “For decades, the Saenuri Party swept the constituencies, but are there any big companies in Daegu? What is there? Even Gyeongbuk is very underdeveloped.” He also revealed that his children have very different political leanings. “I have two sons in their twenties, and both support Yoon Seok-youl, so whenever politics comes up, they both go into their rooms.”

Meanwhile, according to the National Election Commission, the cumulative early voting rate on the 4th and 5th was 33.91% in Daegu and 41.02% in Gyeongbuk. In Daegu, out of 2,046,714 registered voters, 694,117 had voted. In Gyeongbuk, 932,498 out of 2,273,028 had completed early voting. The highest turnout in Daegu was in Suseong-gu at 37.81%, followed by Jung-gu at 37.41%. The lowest turnout was in Dalseong-gun, recording 29.1%.

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