Ruling Party Returns to Busan 20 Days Later as PK Race Tightens

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[Financial News] The Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) has begun pouring in party resources after signs emerged that its approval ratings in Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam (PK) are entering a razor-thin race ahead of the June 3 local elections.
The DPK visited Busan Metropolitan City on the 4th to shore up support in PK. It was a return visit 20 days after its previous trip on the 15th of last month.
That day, the party leadership, including Chairman Jung Cheong-rae, held an on-site Supreme Council meeting in Busan. The move was part of efforts to boost Jeon Jae-soo, the DPK candidate for mayor of Busan, and Ha Jung-woo, the candidate for the Busan Buk-gap constituency.
Jung said at the meeting, "Busan now needs a new leader who can work with President Lee Jae-myung to complete Busan as a maritime capital and open the era of the Arctic shipping route. It needs leadership that can work in step with the president to organically steer state affairs and city administration. I believe candidate Jeon is the right person for the job."
He also praised Jeon, who served as the first Minister of Oceans and Fisheries under the Lee Jae-myung administration and has led efforts to relocate the MOF to Busan, attract companies, establish an Admiralty Court, and develop the Arctic shipping route.
Jung also said of Ha, "Just like the nickname 'Ha GPT' given by President Lee Jae-myung, he will skillfully design and realize Busan's future." He added, "If candidate Ha's artificial intelligence vision meets Busan's manufacturing and maritime industries, Busan will leap even higher."
On the same day, the DPK held a PK nomination convention and threw its support behind Jeon, Ha, Kim Sang-wook, the candidate for mayor of Ulsan Metropolitan City, and Kim Kyoung-soo, the candidate for governor of South Gyeongsang Province. At the convention, Jung said he would unite PK and turn it into a megacity. He also appealed to local sentiment by pointing to the administrative and legislative powers held by the government and ruling party.
Analysts say the reason the DPK returned to Busan after 20 days is that the gap with the opposition in PK has recently been narrowing. As some polls have shown the margin between ruling and opposition candidates shrinking to within the margin of error, tension is rising within the party. A late-stage conservative consolidation is also a factor that cannot be ignored.
In response, the DPK is appealing to local voters by highlighting not only the MOF relocation but also the fact that HMM, a global shipping company, decided under the Lee Jae-myung administration to move its headquarters to Busan through a dramatic labor-management agreement.
However, the party is burdened by a string of controversies. On the 3rd, during a visit to Gupo Market, Jung sparked backlash after telling a first-grade elementary school girl to call Ha, the chief secretary, "older brother." At the on-site Supreme Council meeting that day, Jung personally apologized, saying, "I am sorry that the child was hurt by being placed at the center of controversy, and I also apologize to the child's parents." But the People Power Party has continued its full-scale offensive.
Earlier, after Ha was seen shaking hands with a market vendor and then wiping his hand, the People Power Party sharply criticized him, asking, "Are voters insects?" Ha explained that "my hand had gone numb."
As the DPK steps up its support in PK and the People Power Party amplifies controversies involving the DPK, the rivalry between the two sides over PK is expected to become even fiercer as the campaign enters full swing.
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gowell@fnnews.com Kim Hyung-gu Reporter