Ruling Party Leadership Flocks to North Jeolla Amid Fears of Losing Its Stronghold

(Jeonju=Yonhap News Agency) Reporter Shin Hyeon-woo = Jung Cheong-rae, the Democratic Party of Korea's chief campaign chair and party leader, attended the launch ceremony for the election committee of the Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province Provincial Party Committee at JJ Art Hall at Jeonju University in Jeonju on the 17th and spoke with Lee Won-taek, the party's candidate for governor of North Jeolla Province. Yonhap News Agency [Financial News] The leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea rushed to North Jeolla Province on the 17th to court local voters. The move appears to reflect concern that Kim Gwan-young, an independent candidate who has fallen out with party leader Jung Cheong-rae over a nomination dispute, is gaining ground over Lee Won-taek in opinion polls on the North Jeolla gubernatorial race. At the opening ceremony for Park Ji-won's campaign office in Gimje, North Jeolla Province, for the by-election in Gunsan-Gimje-Buan B, Jung repeatedly shook hands with Lee and Park, signaling full support.
In his congratulatory remarks, he said, "North Jeolla has been given a rare opportunity for development. Saemangeum has been left neglected by successive administrations, but now Lee Jae Myung, a president who gets things done, and North Jeolla should join forces to develop Saemangeum properly. " He added, "For the development of North Jeolla, I will do whatever you want for Governor candidate Lee Won-taek and candidate Park Ji-won. " The event was unusual in that Jung, Han Byung-do, the parliamentary leader, and other Supreme Council members and party leaders all turned out in force to urge votes for candidates for provincial governors, municipal leaders, local council members, and National Assembly by-election seats.
The leadership moved to calm local sentiment after sympathy for independent candidate Kim Gwan-young grew in the region, following CCTV footage showing him handing out cash labeled as transportation expenses during a meal with young party members in the area. Questions were also raised about Lee Won-taek, the Democratic Party candidate, over allegations that a provincial council member paid 720,000 won for a meal at a Jeonbuk Youth meeting last year, but the leadership has accepted Lee's denial of the claims. Kim ran as an independent, calling the nomination process unfair, and some voters in North Jeolla have also defended him. At the Honam nomination convention held in Gangjin County, South Jeolla Province, on the 12th, protesters dressed in mourning clothes demanded Jung's resignation, underscoring the growing backlash.
The party leadership is trying to cut off any chance of this becoming a leadership risk, calling it an act of disloyalty and grounds for discipline. 7% backed Democratic Party candidate Lee Won-taek. 8%.
For more details, see the website of the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission.
jiwon.song@fnnews.com Song Ji-won Reporter