Rival parties battle for undecided voters in Seoul area

General election 2024

Published: 08 Apr. 2024, 18:51 Updated: 08 Apr. 2024, 19:12

Rival parties battle for undecided voters in Seoul area

National Election Commission officials set up vote counting stations inside a gymnasium in Suwon, Gyeonggi, on Monday, two days before the April 10 general election. [NEWS1]

Rival parties campaigned across crucial battleground areas in the Seoul metropolitan region on Monday as they sought to win over undecided voters two days before the general election.

During campaign stops in southeastern Gyeonggi and Incheon, conservative People Power Party (PPP) leader Han Dong-hoon called on voters to block the liberal Democratic Party (DP) from gaining more than 200 seats in the 300-member National Assembly, which would empower the party to override President Yoon Suk Yeol’s vetoes or even potentially impeach him.

“Whether Korea advances or falls into ruin depends on 12 hours [of voting] on April 10,” Han said, claiming that the DP “will run a dictatorship” if it gains 200 seats or more.

Han’s campaign stops in southeastern Gyeonggi on Monday marked the second time in four days that he has traveled to the region and reflects hope within the PPP that it could still win over undecided and centrist voters in a region that has usually swung for liberals.

Han is also scheduled on Monday to campaign in Goyang, northeastern Gyeonggi, and Gimpo, located just west of Seoul, which the PPP has pledged to merge with into the capital city itself.

People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon, third from left, speaks at a campaign rally in Yongin, Gyeonggi, on Monday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Gyeonggi and Incheon’s 74 constituencies, as well as Seoul’s 48 electoral districts, make up almost half of the National Assembly’s 254 directly elected regional seats. The remaining 46 seats are selected by party list proportional representation.

DP leader Lee Jae-myung, who himself is running again to represent Incheon’s Gyeyang-B constituency, spent most of the day appearing at the party’s campaign events in central and western Seoul to support DP candidates.

In his speeches, he urged voters to use their ballots to “pass judgment on” the Yoon administration.

Lee notably appeared in Seoul’s Dongjak-B district on Monday to support DP candidate Ryu Sam-young, who is running against the PPP’s Na Kyung-won, a former four-term lawmaker.

Lee also made campaign stops in Yeondeungpo-B, Dongdaemun-A and Jongno electoral districts to support DP candidates running for those seats.

Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, far right, speaks at a campaign rally in Dongjak District, southern Seoul, on Monday. [YONHAP]

The most hotly contested constituencies in the capital are 11 seats along the Han River that represent the Yeongdeungpo, Gwangjin, Jung, Seongdong, Yongsan and Dongjak districts.

However, the DP believes it can also potentially win some constituencies in southern Seoul's Gangnam, Seocho and Songpa districts, which have long favored conservatives. Lee campaigned in all three areas on Sunday.

Given the tight nature of the election, it remains to be seen if Lee will attend his Tuesday hearing at the Seoul Central District Court, which is overseeing the case against him for charges of corruption and bribery stemming from his time as Gyeonggi governor and Seongnam mayor.

The DP leader and members of his party are set to hold a campaign rally in Seoul’s Yongsan District, where the presidential office is located, to make their final appeal to voters on Tuesday, while PPP leader Han is scheduled to appear at Cheonggye Stream in downtown Seoul for his final campaign stop on the same day.

Under regulations set down by the National Election Commission, no campaigning is allowed on Election Day itself.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]