By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff reporter
Of the eight parliamentary seats up for grabs in the upcoming July 28 by-elections, political analysts have pointed their fingers without hesitation at Eunpyong, Seoul as the number one battleground.
All eyes are on whether Lee Jae-oh, former chairman of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, can make his come back to the political arena by defeating his rival Chang Sang, the former president of Ewha Womans University.
Lee, 65, is running on the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) ticket, while Chang, 72, is with the main opposition Democratic Party (DP).
Recent polls say Lee, who is often called President Lee Myung-bak’s right-hand man, has a comfortable lead with approximately 40 percent of the support, followed by Chang.
Chun Ho-seon, former presidential spokesman when the late former President Roh Moo-hyun was in office, is currently third in the race.
Given the results of the June 2 local elections where final results betrayed forecasts, political analysts are cautious about picking a winner.
The frontrunner Lee had served as a lawmaker for three consecutive terms in the district since 1996. He was defeated by a wide margin by businessman-turned-politician Moon Kook-hyun, founder and former leader of the small Renewal of Korea Party, in the 2008 National Assembly election.
Moon was unseated last year after he was found to be involved in a money-for-parliamentary seats scandal.
Lee was nominated as the GNP candidate to run in the by-elections in July after he resigned the chairmanship of the anti-corruption commission.
Campaign watchers say Lee’s support base in the district is solid.
While a National Assembly member, Lee campaigned for the implementation of the so-called New Town Project aimed at transforming urban slum areas into residential districts.
With about 90 percent of the urban planning project completed and property prices having soared, support for Lee is high among residents there.
Campaign watchers warned that it’s too early to predict the final outcome because public opinion surveys will go on until July 28 when voters pick their new representative.
They pointed to the election results of the June 2 Seoul mayoral election as a reason for their cautious predictions.
Former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook, opposition DP candidate, led Mayor Oh Se-hoon by three percentage points in surveys prior to the polls. But Mayor Oh won the race on the ruling GNP ticket.
Support for the opposition DP is high in Eunpyeong, from which Chang has not yet benefitted from. She has been trying to tap into the DP’s power base, the lower-income class to persuade them to turn out and vote.