Parties to clash on contested election constituencies
Two former prime ministers and 2022 presidential hopefuls_ Lee Nak-yon, left, of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), and Hwang Kyo-ahn, right, of the main opposition United Future Party (UFP) _ will clash in the strategically-critical Jongno district in the April general election. / Yonhap
By Yi Whan-woo
At least four constituencies in Seoul have emerged as hotly-contested districts in the April 15 parliamentary election, with potential presidential hopefuls and other high-profile figures ready to take on their respective opponents.
The Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the main opposition United Future Party (UFP) have confirmed their candidates in 37 of 49 constituencies across the nation’s capital as of Sunday.
The four — Jongno, Gwangjin B, Dongjak B and Songpa B — are drawing more attention than the other 33. This is because their candidates, according to political sources, best represent the liberal and conservative sides of Korean politics and that voter sentiment there can influence the course of the campaign in Seoul.
Dubbed as the country’s “No. 1 politics street,” Jongno is seen as the city’s most fierce battleground as the parties’ leading heavyweights are competing; Lee Nak-yon of the DPK and Hwang Kyo-ahn of the UFP.
Lee has been expanding his political presence as a 2022 presidential hopeful, after wrapping up his term of two years and eight months in January as the country’s longest serving prime minister.
Trailing Lee in the polls of prospective presidential candidates, Hwang was the last prime minister for ousted President Park Geun-hye.
For each contestant, victory would mean a springboard for a presidential bid as well as a threshold to consolidate their leadership in their respective party.
In Gwangjin B, President Moon Jae-in’s former spokeswoman Ko Min-jung will launch her first parliamentary bid.
She will compete against former Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, one of the UFP’s potential presidential hopefuls.
Although she is a political rookie, Ko is familiar with the public as she was an anchorwoman for national broadcaster KBS from 2004 to 2017.
Oh seeks a successful political comeback after losing a referendum on free school meals during his second mayoral term and resigning in 2010.
The two are in a neck-to-neck race, with Oh ahead at 38.5 percent support and Ko at 35.9 percent support in the most recent poll conducted by Hankook Research from March 2 to 3.
Gwangjin B has been home turf for the ruling party, with Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae serving her five Assembly terms from 1996 to 2020 before joining the Cabinet.
But Oh’s side says it remains confident, arguing he has been “living there for the past year, has been interested about the district affairs and given support accordingly.”
In Dongjak B, Lee Soo-jin of the DPK will take on the UFP’s four-term lawmaker Na Kyung-won. The ruling party picked Lee as her academic and career backgrounds are similar to Na’s.
Both went to Seoul National University and were former judges.
The two, however, are opposite in their political affiliation.
Lee was an outspoken critic of Yang Seung-tae, a former chief justice who was accused of exerting his influence over politically sensitive trials in exchange for support from Park Geun-hye during Park’s presidency.
Na was in the center of the political offensive against Cho Kuk, a corruption-ridden and short-lived justice minister under President Moon, when she was a floor leader of the UFP’s predecessor Liberty Korea Party in 2019.
In Songpa B, the UFP’s Bae-hyun jin will make her second attempt for an Assembly seat against the DPK’s Choi Jae-sung. The latter defeated the former in the 2018 by-elections in the same district.