Ruling and opposition parties focus on Seoul, North Jeolla, and other key battlegrounds with three days left before June 3 local elections

[Financial News] With the June 3 local elections and by-elections now just three days away as of the 31st, the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the People Power Party are focusing their remaining campaign efforts on winning over voters in tightly contested districts.
As the campaign enters its final stretch, the DPK is accelerating its strategy of putting President Lee Jae-myung at the forefront. The recent surge in the KOSPI is also a key talking point for the ruling party.
At a rally in Seoul on the 29th, Jung Chung-rae said, "If you feel pleased while looking at your stock account, please vote for No. 1."
For its core supporters, the party is framing this local election as an extension of its effort to "root out the remnants of insurrection," while also urging them to rally. It is also counterattacking by describing support rallies by former presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye for the People Power Party as "an attempt to revive conservative forces."
The DPK leadership is expected to concentrate its campaign stops in Seoul, Ulsan, and North Jeolla Province.
In Ulsan, where the party succeeded in unifying its candidate, the DPK is raising hopes for victory. In North Jeolla Province, its traditional stronghold, however, the challenge from independent candidate Kim Kwan-young, who was expelled just before the primary over allegations of cash distribution, is not expected to be easy. As an anti-Jung Chung-rae sentiment has surfaced in the region, Han Byung-do, the local Co-Chair of the Election Campaign Committee, is expected to take charge of the North Jeolla campaign.
The People Power Party is treating support rallies by former presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye as a signal to unite conservative voters. At the same time, it is pursuing a dual strategy by calling on centrist voters to judge the administration.
Standing Election Campaign Committee Chairperson Jang Dong-hyuk said the previous day, "President Lee's arrogant attitude must be judged in this local election," while Seoul Metropolitan City Mayor candidate Oh Se-hoon also stressed, "Absolute power becomes absolutely arrogant. We must stop it."
However, the two are campaigning in Seoul separately. The reasoning is that if Jang, who is classified as a hardline conservative, campaigns alongside them in Seoul, where centrist voters make up a large share, it could backfire. For that reason, in battleground areas, Song Eon-seok, a Co-Chair of the Election Campaign Committee with a more centrist image, has been handling part of the campaign.
For the People Power Party, the key will be to defend Daegu–Gyeongbuk (TK) and Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam (PK) while securing additional victories in Seoul and Chungcheongnam-do. There is also a growing view within the party that the Seoul metropolitan area and the central region are difficult terrain.

eastcold@fnnews.com Kim Dong-chan Reporter