With the Oct. 26 Seoul mayoral by-election just 10 days away, the rival candidates are locked in a very tight race, defying any prediction for the election results, pollsters said Sunday.
Since the start of the official campaign last Thursday, Rep. Na Kyung-won of the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) and Park Won-soon, an opposition-backed candidate without party affiliation, have been mounting offensives against each other over ethical qualifications and policy pledges to win the key election ahead of next year's major polls.
The vote was set up after Oh Se-hoon of the GNP voluntarily stepped down as Seoul mayor in August after he failed to block an opposition-led free school lunch program in the city's first-ever referendum.
At the beginning of the race late last month, Park, a lawyer-turned-civic activist, was leading Na, a two-term lawmaker who formerly served as a court judge, by more than 10 percentage points. But the gap has narrowed lately, with the GNP candidate overtaking Park in some polls, due largely to the media revelations of a series of suspicions against the independent candidate.
According to a poll conducted by the Naeil Shinmun of 2,500 citizens on Oct. 12-13, 47 percent supported Park, compared with 44.4 percent for Na.
In a similar survey carried by the Seoul Shinmun on Oct. 10-11, Na secured 47.6 percent against Park's 44.5 percent.
"The gap between the rival candidates has noticeably narrowed, as the ruling party has staged an intensive offense, mobilized its organization and mustered support from conservative voters," said Ahn Il-won, a polling company executive who organized the Naeil Shinmun survey.
Lee Taek-soo, a Seoul-based pollster, said that the final outcome will depend on who will capture more of the swing voters estimated to reach 5 to 10 percent of the electorate.
"Like in the previous local elections, the winner in the Seoul mayoral election may be determined by a margin of less than 1 percent of votes," said Lee.
The 55-year-old Park, who founded a local charitable foundation, is facing criticism over receiving big donations from conglomerates that he had accused of engaging in unfair business practices. The ruling camp has also focused its offensive on Park's pro-North Korean activities and alleged doctoring of his academic background. (Yonhap)