Jung Cheong-rae Tours the Country... Jang Dong-hyuk Visits Only Conservative Areas [June 3 Local Elections]

With about 30 days left until the June 3 local elections, the movements of the leaders of the ruling and opposition parties are sharply contrasting. Jung Cheong-rae, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is traveling across the country to support candidates and shore up grassroots sentiment. In contrast, Jang Dong-hyuk, leader of the People Power Party, has been relatively passive in backing local election campaigns.
According to political sources on the 3rd, Jung has visited a total of 40 cities and counties since the 1st of last month through that day, making an extensive campaign tour. He has been lending support to candidates’ rallies across all eight provinces.
Analysts say Jung’s wide-ranging campaign reflects the high approval ratings of the government and ruling party. The Lee Jae-myung administration has recently maintained a national approval rating above 60 percent, while the Democratic Party has also been polling around 50 percent, extending a joint upswing for the government and the ruling bloc.
Jung is also seen as able to send a message that, as the government and ruling party, they can resolve long-stalled local issues. With the administration’s executive power and the ruling party’s large majority, he can appeal to local residents through budgetary and legislative power.
For example, Jung has pledged to secure funding needed for the artificial intelligence transformation and to resolve long-standing local issues in Daegu, a key battleground, including the water intake source problem and the relocation of the military airport.
To build on that momentum, Jung has announced that the party will hold an on-site Supreme Council meeting in Busan on the 4th. As the approval gap between the two parties has recently narrowed in the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam region (PK), Jung appears to be returning to Busan about two weeks later to tighten support. Jeon Jae-soo, the Busan mayoral candidate, and Ha Jung-woo, the former senior presidential secretary for AI future planning running in the Busan Buk-gap by-election, are also expected to attend.
By contrast, Jang has been confined to the National Assembly and has not mounted any notable campaign support effort. Since last month, he has visited only six cities in total. His trips have mostly been limited to Seoul and other areas in the greater capital region, as well as conservative strongholds such as Daegu, Busan, and Yangyang in Gangwon Province. He also tried to visit Sejong City, but the plan ultimately fell through. A visit to southern Gyeonggi Province, the center of the K-Semiconductor Belt, was also canceled after being postponed twice.
The reason Jang is in such an isolated position is that a growing number of candidates are distancing themselves from him. There is concern that his presence in the region could backfire and become a liability rather than an asset.
In fact, as the party’s approval rating remains stuck in the low teens, analysts say the People Power Party brand itself has clear limits when it comes to appealing to local voters.
There are also growing criticisms from inside and outside the party that the campaign has been marred by the controversy over Jang’s "empty-handed" trip to the United States, as well as by persistent internal conflict centered on him. Some say the party still cannot shake its pro-Yoon image, which is blocking efforts to expand support among moderate voters.
At the campaign office opening for Park Hyung-joon, the People Power Party’s Busan mayoral candidate, on the 2nd, tensions between the pro-Yoon and Anti-Yoon factions, led by Jang, also surfaced.


[email protected] Kim Hyung-gu Reporter