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| Ruling People Power Party Chairman Lee Jun-seok speaks during a meeting with party officials of the party's election committee for South Gyeongsang Province in Changwon, Sunday. Yonhap |
PPP candidates ahead in Seoul, surrounding areas
By Kang Seung-woo
The ruling People Power Party is moving closer to grabbing an opportunity to take revenge on the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), which handed the conservative party a devastating loss four years ago in the local elections, as it is now basking in the limelight following the inauguration of President Yoon Suk-yeol.
The PPP's approval rating hit a seven-and-a-half-year record high of 45 percent three days after Yoon's May 10 inauguration, according to Gallup Korea, giving it a significant boost ahead of the June 1 local elections.
In addition, the PPP is expected to benefit from suspicions of sexual misconduct linked to a veteran DPK lawmaker. The opposition side saw its approval rating drop 10 percentage points from a week earlier to 31 percent.
Four years ago, behind the inter-Korean detente in 2018, buoyed by a summit between then-President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, and another between then-U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim, the PPP won only two out of 17 mayoral and gubernatorial seats, both of which were in its political stronghold, Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province.
According to the PPP, public approval of Yoon following his inauguration has improved, which it believes has affected the party's rating positively.
Upon his election, his decision to move the presidential office out of its longstanding site in Cheong Wa Dae to the defense ministry building in Yongsan District drew strong public backlash. In addition, a number of nominations for his Cabinet have caused controversy due to various allegations.
Out of the 17 races, all eyes are on who will win the mayoral seats in Seoul and Incheon and the gubernatorial post for Gyeonggi Province, as their results will be key indicators in deciding the overall winner of the local elections.
In the race for the Gyeonggi governorship, former PPP lawmaker Kim Eun-hye led former Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon of the DPK 40.5 percent to 38.1 percent, according to a survey of 1,010 adults conducted by Gallup Korea last Friday and Saturday at the request of the local daily newspaper JoongAng Ilbo. The gap of 2.4 percentage points was within the margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, at a 95 percent confidence level.
Another Gallup Korea poll, which interviewed 1,001 adults on Friday and Saturday, found that Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon of the PPP was leading former DPK Chairman Song Young-gil by 25.1 percentage points.
In the Incheon mayoral race, former Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok of the PPP is well ahead of incumbent Mayor Park Nam-choon of the DPK by 12.9 percentage points, at 45.8 percent to 32.9 percent.
The ruling party expects to gain further momentum, considering President Yoon's upcoming events that have to do with people's livelihoods, integration and diplomacy.
On Monday, Yoon called for the National Assembly's cooperation in passing the government's 59.4 trillion won ($46.1 billion) extra budget proposal aimed at helping small businesses and the self-employed who have suffered losses due to pandemic restrictions, urging the National Assembly to pass the bill in his first budget speech at the Assembly.
In addition, he plans to attend a state memorial ceremony, Wednesday, on the anniversary of the 1980 Gwangju pro-democracy movement, which former President Chun Doo-hwan brutally suppressed, leading to the massacre of hundreds of civilians.
On Saturday, he will sit down with U.S. President Joe Biden in Seoul.
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