In the 'Hwaktamyeong' Trend, Honam Voter Turnout Stagnates at 30%... Kim Cools Down the Opposition Party Convention

Lee's Cumulative Vote Share Approaches 80%, Gaining Overwhelming Support
But 'Honam Voter Turnout Remains in the 30% Range, Failing to Generate Excitement'

At the 'Jeonbuk Love Talk Concert' held at Jeonbuk National University on the 16th, Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea's presidential candidate, is asking questions to supporters. Photo by Yonhap News.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] In the Democratic Party's August 28 leadership election, candidate Lee Jae-myung's cumulative vote share is approaching the 80% range, solidifying the 'Expanded Lee (Definitely Lee as the leader)' trend. However, the voter turnout in the Honam region, a traditional stronghold of the Democratic Party, fell below the national average turnout, leading to assessments that the election failed to generate excitement. Analysts suggest that the predictable election results and the difficulty in expecting a turnaround caused a loss of voting momentum.

In the Honam regional primary held on the 20th and 21st, candidate Lee continued his dominant run. He won decisively with 76.81% in Jeonbuk, followed by 78.6% in Gwangju and 79% in Jeonnam. In the 15 regional primaries held so far, Lee secured over 70% of the vote in all areas except Chungnam (66.77%). His nationwide cumulative vote share stands at 78.35%.

However, voter turnout was noticeably low. Jeonbuk recorded 34.07%, while Jeonnam and Gwangju had 37.52% and 34.18%, respectively. The average turnout across these three regions was 35.49%, lower than the national average turnout of 36.44%. Considering that Honam is known as the 'Democratic Party stronghold' and accounts for 36% (421,047) of the total 1.17 million eligible party members, the turnout was significantly below expectations.

Especially since the first primary in Gangwon, Daegu, and Gyeongbuk on the 6th, turnout has been steadily declining. In the Chungcheong region, which held its primary just before Honam, turnout was in the 30% range everywhere except Sejong, with Chungnam at 31.87%, Chungbuk at 34.39%, Sejong at 45.05%, and Daejeon at 33.61%. Among the 15 voting regions, only three?Gyeongbuk (57.81%), Daegu (59.21%), and Busan (50.07%)?exceeded 50% turnout. Jeju had the lowest turnout at 28.62%.

The low turnout is analyzed as a result of the cooling election enthusiasm due to the difficulty in expecting a turnaround amid the Expanded Lee trend. On the 22nd, Representative Yoon Young-chan, who withdrew after running for the Supreme Council member position in this leadership election, held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office and said, "(Supporters) expressed a lot of disappointment with the Democratic Party's opacity and undemocratic nature after the presidential election, as well as the lack of reflection and introspection," adding, "This has led to some supporters not participating in voting, some defecting, or giving up."

Within the party, concerns have been raised about the overrepresentation of some hardline party members. Representative Cho Eung-cheon appeared on YTN's 'News Rider' and said, "The turnout is not even reaching 40%. Nearly 70% of eligible party members are not voting," adding, "Voting is mainly happening among hardline members with a clear purpose, so other members feel that voting won't change the outcome, so they don't see the need to vote."

There were also criticisms that the low turnout stems from disappointment over the lack of a figure presenting a new vision after the last presidential election defeat. Professor Lee Jun-han of Incheon National University's Department of Political Science and Diplomacy said, "This is not just a problem in Honam; turnout is low in all regions," and added, "After the presidential election defeat, the Democratic Party has not shown signs of change. There was no competitor who could rival candidate Lee or present a vision and hope."

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