South Korean presidential candidates make final push in Daegu, Seoul, and Dongtan

SEOUL – With just two days to go to South Korea’s presidential election, the three leading candidates on June 1 hurtled through rival strongholds and their own home turfs alike to lure undecided voters.

Democratic Party of Korea candidate and front runner Lee Jae-myung revisited the conservative strongholds of Daegu and the wider Gyeongsang region, a day after former president Park Geun-hye made an appearance to lend her support to the People Power Party’s (PPP) Mr Kim Moon-soo.

Despite a long history as the conservative stronghold, several recent opinion polls have showed a relatively narrow gap between support from voters in the area for Lee and Mr Kim, compared with previous elections.

Lee began in Andong, his home town and the capital city of North Gyeongsang province, vowing to be “a president for everyone” at a rally held in the morning.

“If you give me the opportunity, I won’t become a ‘half president’ that divides the country by relying on one side and oppressing another, but rather a president for everyone that brings all people to one,” he said.

Lee stopped by Daegu at around noon, where he stressed that the upcoming election would be a “judgment for the forces of insurrection”, taking a jab at former president Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed Dec 3 martial law and the faction within the PPP that supported him.

Lee stopped by Ulsan hours later. He was set to wrap up his itinerary for the day in Busan, according to campaign staff. The last stop of his campaign trail, scheduled for June 2, is expected to be Seoul’s financial and political hub of Yeouido, sources close to the matter said.

In a separate Facebook post on June 1, Lee expanded on earlier pledges to revitalise the regional economies of major cities in the Gyeongsang region, including the port cities of Busan and Ulsan, vowing to establish a state-run investment bank focused on funding local development projects.

“I plan to pursue the establishment of the ‘East-South Investment Bank’ for the recovery of competitiveness of the Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang region and lead its sustainable growth,” he said via Facebook.

Lee has said he plans to swiftly transform Busan into a strategic gateway for emerging Arctic maritime trade.

Mr Kim, meanwhile, made several stops in the Greater Seoul area, including Gyeonggi province, where he served as governor from 2006 to 2014.

He appeared at a rally in Suwon, where he ramped up his criticism of Lee – who was also governor of the province, from 2018 to 2021 – and reiterated his apology for Yoon’s martial law.

“Only your vote can make South Korea upright and create a just democracy,” Mr Kim told the crowd gathered at his rally.

“If someone who is bound to go to prison becomes the president of this country, then this country will merely become a bundle of crimes,” he added.

Lee faces five ongoing criminal trials on 12 charges, including subornation of perjury and election law violations.

Regarding the Dec 3 martial law bid, he said Yoon’s move affected the country “with several hardships” and that he and the PPP “reflect on it deeply”.

In the afternoon, Mr Kim appeared near Coex centre in Gangnam district, where he said South Korea’s possibility of being ruled by a “monstrous dictatorship” under Lee was a “bigger problem” than Yoon’s martial law bid.

“South Korea’s democracy is at a crisis,” he said.

“Martial law is problematic, but the bigger problem is the concerns that (our country) could head towards a monstrous dictatorship.”

Mr Kim’s remarks come as the former labour minister has struggled to narrow the gap with Lee in opinion polls.

In the latest Realmeter survey released on May 28, Lee was leading with 49.2 per cent, with Mr Kim trailing behind at 36.8 per cent. Candidate Lee Jun-seok of the minor New Reform Party came in third with 10.3 per cent. The survey involved 1,003 respondents aged 18 and older.

Mr Kim was scheduled to stop by parts of Gyeonggi province, including Guri and Uijeongbu, before rallying in areas of northern Seoul. His last campaign stop is expected to be the City Hall in central Seoul on June 2, according to campaign staff.

Mr Lee Jun-seok campaigned at Dongtan Lake Park in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi province. He pledged to cater to voters in their 30s and 40s – the average age of residents in Dongtan – by listening to their opinions.

He was scheduled to hold a rally at Seoul Station later in the evening. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK