'Hyeomji Chulma' Gaining Attention Due to Yoon Sang-hyun's Remarks... Most Results Were Disastrous

Successful Politicians in Difficult Districts, Roh Moo-hyun, Kim Boo-kyum, Lee Jung-hyun
Self-Powered Candidacy in Tough Districts Sparks Intra-Party Controversy

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] With just over a year left until the 2024 general election, the theory of 'running in a tough district' has emerged as a hot topic in political circles. Former People Power Party (PPP) leader Lee Jun-seok proposed the 'Yun Hae-gwan (Yoon Seok-yeol core associates) tough district candidacy theory' last year, and party leadership contenders seem to be expanding and reproducing this idea. Running in a tough district can significantly boost one's political stature if successful, but if it goes wrong, it can end a political career?making it a double-edged sword.

On the 30th of last month, Yoon Sang-hyun, a PPP lawmaker and one of the party leadership candidates, revealed a 'bold plan' on social media (SNS), proposing that "all candidates running for party leader this time jointly declare their intention to run in the metropolitan area."

The logic is that for the ruling party to secure a majority (70 seats) in the metropolitan area, which determines the outcome of the general election, party leadership candidates must take the lead by running in the metropolitan area, considered the ruling party's tough district. Earlier, former leader Lee also pressured the 'Yun Hae-gwan' last August during his first press conference after a severe disciplinary action, urging them to "run in a tough district in the metropolitan area if they truly care about the country and the party."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Yoon said, "I believe all (party leader) candidates will join together," but as of the 3rd, the only party leadership candidate who has publicly expressed agreement is lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo. Among the lawmakers mentioned as party leadership candidates, only Yoon and Ahn have constituencies in the metropolitan area. The rest all have constituencies outside the metropolitan area.

Running in the metropolitan area without local ties is not easy, even for high-profile party leadership candidates. Joo Ho-young, floor leader, pointed out the risks of the 'tough district candidacy theory' on BBS's 'Jeon Young-shin's Morning Journal,' saying, "In the last election, we moved many constituencies, which was evaluated as 'self-harm' on our part."

Roh Moo-hyun, Kim Boo-kyum, Lee Jung-hyun Succeeded... but 'Like Catching Stars in the Sky'

The tough district candidacy theory is mentioned every general election after the 'regionalism' structure solidified. Choosing to leave one's existing base and challenge a region where the party's support is weak or entirely new carries risks, but success can greatly elevate political stature.

A representative politician who raised his stature by running in a tough district is former President Roh Moo-hyun. He repeatedly ran in districts with low chances of winning, losing four times while advocating for 'breaking regionalism,' but gained recognition for his sincerity in the process and was eventually elected president. Former Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, elected in Daegu-Gyeongbuk (TK), a conservative stronghold, and Lee Jung-hyun, Chair of the Balanced Development Strategy Planning Committee, elected in Honam, a progressive stronghold, are also considered figures who broke regional patterns and succeeded in tough districts.

However, aside from these few cases, most 'tough district' candidacies did not fare well. Five-term lawmaker Hwang Woo-yeo, who served as party leader and deputy prime minister, ran in Incheon Seo-gu E, a strong opposition area, instead of his own constituency Incheon Yeonsu-gap in the 20th general election and was ultimately defeated. Also, former Supreme Court Justice Ahn Dae-hee, regarded as a mentor to President Yoon Seok-yeol, ran in Seoul Mapo-gap instead of Busan in the 20th general election and lost.

From the ruling party's perspective, the metropolitan area is a tough district, but from the opposition's perspective, Gangnam is called not just a 'tough district' but a 'death zone.' Lawmaker Kim Han-gyu lost in Gangnam-byeong, known as a 'death zone,' in the 21st general election but was later appointed as the Blue House political secretary during the Moon Jae-in administration and won a by-election last year, succeeding Jeju Governor Oh Young-hoon in Jeju-si E.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Party's Demand for 'Tough District' Candidacy, Sometimes Rejected

The party demanded tough district candidacies, but there have been many cases of refusal. Former Mayor Oh Se-hoon, before the 20th general election, hesitated over the party's request to run in a tough district but ultimately refused and ran in Jongno, the 'political first district.' Former Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Moon-soo also ran in Daegu, considered a tough district, but lost to Kim Boo-kyum, former Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party. Hong Joon-pyo, the party's standing advisor and mayor of Daegu, refused to run in a metropolitan tough district in the 21st general election and was elected in Daegu Suseong-gu E.

Tough district candidacies are often used in factional conflicts or as pressure tactics to cut off prominent senior politicians. Before the 20th general election, the Saenuri Party, the predecessor of the People Power Party, saw pro-Park and anti-Park factions urging each other to run in tough districts, leading to conflicts. Before the 21st general election, the United Future Party conducted mass cutoffs of senior lawmakers who refused to run in tough districts.

Sometimes candidates claim they ran in tough districts, but it is unclear whether the districts are truly tough. A representative case is former United Future Party leader Hwang Kyo-ahn, who ran in Jongno in the 21st general election. After more than a month of deliberation, he chose Jongno, but since Jongno has traditionally produced many conservative party winners, there was controversy over whether it was truly a tough district.

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