Busan — hot battleground

By Kang Hyun-kyung

The three probable rival candidates for the upcoming presidential election all have strong ties with the southeastern port city of Busan, home to some 3 million voters, representing approximately 7.5 percent of the electorate.

Rep. Park Geun-hye, the presidential candidate of the ruling party, is popular there and Rep. Moon Jae-in, the standard bearer for the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP), was a Busan-based lawyer for many years after passing the state bar exam in 1980.

The nation’s second largest city is also hometown to Ahn Cheol-soo, a popular Seoul National University professor who is likely to declare his presidential bid early this week. He was born and raised in Beomcheondong, an urban slum, until he graduated from high school where his father ran a small hospital. He closed it in June, ending a 49-year medical practice.

This unusual commonality prompts campaign watchers to speculate whether the ruling Saenuri Party’s home turf will become an election battleground.

The question is whether Ahn’s link with the people in Busan is strong enough to win their support if he enters the presidential race.

Although many people have shown “Saenuri Party fatigue” there, voters say they are also negative of Ahn’s prospects of gaining the upper hand.

Han Myung-ja, a church worker based in downtown Busan, told The Korea Times that few people have strong ties with Ahn, although his father ran a hospital in the city for nearly five decades.

“The hospital was not a renowned one. Only people living in the neighborhood knew it,” the 57-year-old said. “I heard that Ahn’s father closed the hospital because reporters flocked there in recent months to interview him because of his son. Plus, I think he is old enough to retire.”

Asking for anonymity, a political scientist based in Busan said Ahn is as popular there as he is in other regions but this is not because it is his home town.

“He went to Seoul after graduating high school here and has lived there since then. Elderly citizens in Busan are relatively unfamiliar with him,” she said. “Some of them didn’t even know that Ahn is a Busan native.”

The political scientist said Ahn’s bond with Busan is even weaker than that of Rep. Moon Jae-in, the leading DUP presidential candidate.

“Busan is not Moon’s hometown. But he practiced law here, working as a human rights lawyer for many years. He also successfully ran in the Sasang district in the April election,” she said. “The ruling party is not popular here. It is true that Busan people are sick and tired of the Saenuri Party. As you can see in the April elections results, however, Rep. Park is still influential.”

A recent poll found that Park is ahead of Ahn by 10 percentage points in a hypothetical two-way race. She also distanced herself from Moon with a 13 percentage point margin in a hypothetical two-way survey.

A 57-year-old voter, Han, said she used to be a big fan of Ahn but whether she will vote for him or not is a different question.

“I was a little bit disappointed at the news that he may join the presidential race. As a professor, I think he is a great person. But as a politician, his leadership has not been tested.”

Han said she voted for the Saenuri Party in the National Assembly elections in April. But she said she is now an undecided voter, adding she is sick and tired of the conservative party.

Jung Mi-kyung, said she would vote for Ahn if he joins the presidential race and unveils clear visions for the city.

The 35-year-old who teaches English at a private academy said she is anti-Saenuri Party and willing to cast her ballot for the founder of the anti-virus software firm AhnLab.