[ELECTION 2016] Conservatives battle in Saenuri stronghold

DAEGU — Wearing dark suits and red jackets, men and women, mostly between their 40s and 60s, gathered in front of a building in Suseong district, Deagu, one of the most affluent areas in South Korea’s third biggest city.

Their gathering appeared to resemble a friendly reunion of old friends as they addressed one another by their first names or terms of endearment such as “brother” and “sister.” They were supporters of President Park Geun-hye and the ruling Saenuri Party that had volunteered to celebrate the party’s election campaign launch on Wednesday.

“Saenuri Party is the heart of the conservative value, isn’t it?” Rep. Cho Won-jin, the second-term lawmaker running in Dalseo district in the city, said to the supporters in a heavy Daegu accent.

“If we lose Daegu, it is not just a defeat of the Saenuri Party. It is a defeat to the Republic of Korea and its liberal democracy,” he said.

The two-hour event, packed with Saenuri bigwigs and fervent supporters who punctuated the occasion with resounding applause and cheers, represented a snapshot of the conservative party’s stronghold. It is the political hometown of President Park and her father late President Park Chung-hee.

Being elected as a lawmaker first in Dalseong district of Daegu in 1998, the president began her political career buoyed by strong supports of Daegu residents. Almost 80 percent of Daegu voters cast ballots for Park in the 2012 presidential election.

Its political stance is reflected in the breakdown of its representatives in the National Assembly and the municipal parliament. All of the lawmakers representing the region at the 19th Assembly and the city’s municipalities are Saenuri members – making the city the only region that has a legislative body monopolized by a single party.

“I don’t know about politics and I think all politicians are basically thieves. But, if I have to choose one among those thieves, I will definitely choose a thief from our town,” a 40-year-old man, who runs a sushi restaurant at Pyeonghwa commercial district downtown of the city, told The Korea Herald.

Another resident offered more specific rationale to his support. A 50-year-old pharmacist, who has run a business for more than 30 years in the neighborhood, said that he would support the Saenuri Party to help Park avoid lame-duck presidency and allocate more budgets to boost the city’s economy.

One of the candidates seeking to leverage on such sentiment was Chong Jong-sup. The former interior minister runs in Dong-gu A district, competing with Rep. Yoo Sung-kull, a former Saenuri lawmaker who left the party in protest against his nomination drop.

Saenuri’s Chong Jong-sup talks to a seller at a market on his campaign trail in Daegu. Yeo Jun-suk/The Korea Herald

“If you photocopied President Park, I would be what you’d get,” said Chung in an interview with The Korea Herald. Last year, such enthusiastic loyalty had gotten Chong into trouble, as he was accused by the main opposition party of violating election laws when proposing a toast in favor of the Saenuri Party. He was then a member of the Cabinet and in charge of overseeing fair elections nationwide.

On his campaign trail, Chong and his aides did not bother to dispel such an image. Instead of elaborating on election pledges and policy agendas, they chanted “choose the number one” to the voters who have been known to hold strong allegiance to the conservative party, regardless of its roster.

But Chong’s strategy appears to face an exceptional challenge: contesting against independents who have left the Saenuri Party in the wake of the party’s infamous factional strife. Of the 11 defectors, four were elected from Daegu and all of them seek reelection bids in the parliamentary poll.

Independent runner Yoo Seong-min shakes hands with citizens in Daegu. (Yonhap)

At the heart of the race is the former Saenuri whip Rep. Yoo Seong-min. The third-term lawmaker quit the party months after President Park displayed disapproval toward him for objecting to her policy directions. The conservative party said that Yoo’s political stance clashes with its identity and dropped him from the nomination list last month.

“The Saenuri Party boasts a wide spectrum of ideologies (from far-rights to moderates),” said Yoo in an interview with The Korea Herald. “But that spectrum has become too narrow over a short period of time. I will help those being excluded from the nomination and discuss election strategies among us,” said Yoo, who was born and raised in Daegu.

What could help Yoo’s case for reelection is the region’s worsening economy. The former economics professor said in a media interview that he was the right choice to steer the city in the right direction after President Park finishes her term in 2017.

One of the city’s biggest economic hurdles is worsening youth unemployment. The 2015 statistic was 11.4 percent, about 2 percent above the nation’s average, marking the third biggest employment nationwide.

“If the Saenuri Party keeps nominating politicians who don’t have any association with the region, then the city’s economy will not improve,” said 48-year-old Jang Wang-ki, referring to Chung, who he said came to the city just a month ago.

With most of the city’s constituents divided between the Saenuri candidates and defectors, one lawmaker from the main opposition The Minjoo Party of Korea aims to provide an alternative for voters. He is Kim Boo-kyum, the only liberal candidate ahead of the Saenuri candidate in opinion polls in the constituency.

The Minjoo Party’s Kim Boo-kyum waves to citizens in Daegu. (Yonhap)

In a survey conducted by local pollster Realmeter, The Minjoo Party’s third-term lawmakers enjoyed a hefty lead over his counterpart Kim Moon-soo, the former governor of Gyeonggi Province, with 52.7 percent to his 38.2 percent in the Suseong A district.

“While citizens of Daegu may have strong patriotism and allegiance to the president, they are undoubtedly outraged at the way the local (economy) is headed,” the Minjoo Party candidate said in an interview with The Korea Herald.

“I am here to challenge the nation’s deep-rooted regionalism that distorts Korea’s party system,” said Kim.

In the 2012 parliamentary election and the 2014 election to choose the city’s mayor, Kim had run for the opposition party, but was defeated by conservative candidates by a narrow margin.

By Yeo Jun-suk and Lee Seul-gi 
(jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com) (yesyep@heraldcorp.com)

South Korea will elect new National Assembly members in a general election on April 13. The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles on candidate agendas, election trends and notable runners leading up to the race. This is the 13th installment. -Ed