Democratic Party candidate Kim Young-chun (left) and People’s Strength candidate Park Hyung-joon are vying in front of Gwangbok-ro, Jung-gu and Igidae Mayor in Nam-gu, respectively, on the afternoon of the 4th. News 1
On the 5th, with the 4/7 Busan mayoral by-election coming two days ahead, Democratic Party candidate Kim Young-chun and People’s Power candidate Park Hyeong-jun traveled all over Busan and devoted their efforts to catching the final vote.
Candidate Young-chun Kim moved to Sasang-gu at 10 a.m. on that day and to Buk-gu and other places 30 minutes later, continuing the campaign to meet citizens. From this day, until 0 o’clock on the 7th, when election campaigns are banned, they have entered the ’48-hour intensive campaign’. The campaign is proceeding in a’relay’ method of transferring vehicles. While on the move, the head of the Yoo Se headquarters and the regional chairperson give speeches, and where there is a large floating population, the candidate directly speaks in a’guerilla style’. Candidate Kim appealed for support, saying, “To rebuild the economic crisis in Busan, we need a powerful ruling party mayor.”
The Democratic Party is trying to overturn at the last minute, seeing that the various polls that are behind the scenes are far apart from the perceived public sentiment. An official from the Democratic Party said, “If you secure about 30% of the class, you have enough odds.” Candidate Kim’s side is maximizing the organizational power of the ruling party’s strength by mobilizing the party’s basic and regional council members as well as regional committees for the remainder of the campaign.
In addition, he is focusing his firepower on raising various suspicions surrounding candidate Park Hyung-jun. On the morning of that morning, the Democratic Party’s mayor of Busan’s Seondae Committee held a press conference and argued that L-City’s preferential corruption and candidate Park during the 2012 general election had manipulated the sexual scandal while offering money to women in order to drop competitors in the party’s primary election. Throughout the election campaign, the Democratic Party raised various suspicions such as speculation of real estate related to Candidate Park, abuse of authority as the secretary-general of the National Assembly, orders for illegal inspections, corruption in Hongik University entrance examinations, and misconduct of art sculptures.
Candidate Hyung-joon Park is facing a ‘1 night and 2 days fighting spirit campaign’ in the offensive of Candidate Kim’s side. Candidate Park started to greet him on his way to work at the Seomyeon intersection and appealed for support by traveling around Busanjin-gu, Nam-gu, and Suyeong-gu in a campaign vehicle. In particular, support shots from former and incumbent lawmakers are also being carried out simultaneously. On the 6th, the last day of the election campaign, it is planned to run a single campaign and a joint campaign in all areas of Busan, including Haeundae-gu, Dongnae-gu, Buk-gu, and Saha-gu. Candidate Park said, “The time for government judgment and replacement has come. I will take the lead in solving the needs of citizens and small businesses,” he appealed to him to vote.
Candidate Hyung-joon Park is predicting that the results of the polls will lead to actual election results while showing an edge outside the margin of error in various polls. An official from the People’s Power said, “If we maintain the current trend of support, we will be able to win enough”, and are focusing on raising the turnout until the last day of the election campaign. Because there are traditionally many opposition supporters in Busan, the more voters vote, the better.
Candidate Park’s side is planning to file a lawsuit for compensation for damages or accuse him of innocence, saying, “It is different from the facts” regarding the ruling party’s suspicion. Here, candidate Kim Young-chun is struggling with the issue of raising the rent for a house in Seoul. The People’s Power argued that candidate Kim insisted on passing the revised bill of the Housing Lease Act, which is the main content of the rent ceiling system and request for contract renewal, and that he has raised his apartment rent by 14.5% since 2016. Candidate Young-Chun Kim refuted, saying, “I never made an impression while the tenant lived,” but the controversy continued.
As the fierce campaign of the two candidates continues to the last minute, it is difficult to predict the outcome of the election. An official from the local government said, “Since seeing and hearing may not be everything on the surface, it is difficult to predict the final vote.”
Busan= Kwon Kyung-hoon reporter [email protected]
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