[Presidential Election D-1] Lee Jae-myung, "Victory is Certain"...Thumbs Up at Candlelight Mecca Cheonggye Plaza

Final Campaign Rally in the Seoul Metropolitan Area

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, attended the rally titled "For All of Us, Towards a Gender-Equal Society" held at the Boshingak site in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 3rd, greeting the cheering supporters. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group

[Asia Economy reporters Ki-min Lee and Young-won Kim] Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, will conclude his 21-day official campaign on the 8th, the last day of campaigning, with a final rally and a full-scale effort in the Seoul metropolitan area, including Gyeonggi, Incheon, and Cheonggye Plaza. Lee continued sharp criticism toward Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party candidate, mentioning the "prosecutor kingdom" and "old-fashioned politics."

At a press conference at the party headquarters in Yeouido that morning, Lee targeted Yoon, saying, "We can no longer tolerate the prosecutor kingdom filled with retaliation and hatred, a society stained by conflict and division, and old-fashioned politics that use the suffering of the people as a tool for political strife." He appealed for support, stating, "We must pass on a proud Republic of Korea to our descendants. We have the duty to win against forces trying to regress history."

He continued, "I, Lee Jae-myung, have been recognized for my competence as a tool of 1 million Seongnam citizens and 10 million Gyeonggi residents. As a result, the people have called me the presidential candidate for 50 million Koreans." He emphasized, "Please hold Lee Jae-myung's hand."

Lee plans to emphasize that he is the "candidate truly called by the people" during his rallies in the metropolitan area and the focused rally at Cheonggye Plaza. At the Cheonggye Plaza rally, he is expected to highlight that "Cheonggye Plaza is a historic site where unjust power was overthrown by 17 million candlelight protesters and democracy was restored," and that "personally, the impeachment crisis was an opportunity for me to rise as a nationwide politician."

Lee and the Democratic Party believe that winning in the Seoul metropolitan area, where half of the country's population is concentrated, is essential to winning the presidential election.

Originally, Lee's schedule included only rallies in Paju, Cheongna, and Gwangmyeong between Yeouido and Gwanghwamun, but many more stops were added at the last minute. A Democratic Party official said, "Lee expressed his desire to stop by even one more place along his route to meet with the people."

During the official campaign period, Lee has been conducting an all-out campaign in Seoul and the metropolitan area. As of this day, Lee has held rallies at 24 locations in Seoul (10 in Gangnam and 14 in Gangbuk). Especially in Seoul, where the People Power Party won by an 18.32 percentage point margin in last year's Seoul mayoral by-election, the Democratic Party sees the need to reduce the gap from that vote share to win the presidential election.

Lee also visited 18 locations in Gyeonggi and 2 in Incheon. Although Gyeonggi is Lee's "home ground," the Democratic Party believes he must securely outpace Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party candidate. In particular, considering the heightened security sensitivity in northern Gyeonggi and Incheon due to North Korea's missile provocations, Lee visited Paju, Goyang, and Incheon, promising to "create a peaceful Korean Peninsula without worries about war."

Outside the metropolitan area, Lee focused on the Yeongnam region, where the Democratic Party is weak. Lee began his campaign on the 15th of last month at Busan Port and toured 14 cities in the Yeongnam region (3 in Busan, 1 in Ulsan, 2 in Gyeongnam, 3 in Daegu, and 5 in Gyeongbuk), promoting the realization of a southern metropolitan area and emphasizing his personal qualities to secure the support of moderate voters.

The Chungcheong and Daejeon regions were also frequent stops for Lee. Emphasizing himself as the "son-in-law of Chungcheong," Lee visited the region eight times (2 in Daejeon, 3 in Chungbuk, 2 in Chungnam, and 1 in Sejong), pledging regional balanced development and the completion of the administrative capital.

Meanwhile, in Honam, Lee personally toured six locations (2 in Jeonbuk, 3 in Jeonnam, and 1 in Gwangju), while Lee Nak-yeon, the overall campaign committee chairman, and Democratic Party leaders Jeong Se-gyun and Song Young-gil visited Jeonbuk to appeal to local voters.

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