Opposition’s rise in Busan alerts ruling party

Opposition’s rise in Busan alerts ruling party

By Chung Min-uck The main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) is outmaneuvering the ruling Saenuri Party in some electoral districts of Busan and South Gyeongsang Province, the ruling camp’s long-held home turf, in the lead up to the April 11 general election. In a survey of 500 adults in selective districts conducted by a local daily and pollster Embrain from Tuesday to Friday, potential DUP candidates led in possible races by 8 percentage points. Moon Jae-in, a senior advisor of the DUP and Roh Moo-hyun Foundation chairman, received 42.3 percent from voters in Busan’s Sasang District. His potential competitor Kwon Chul-hyeon, a former ruling Saenuri Party lawmaker, received 34.7 percent coming in second place. “I am glad that I am leading. But the race is still unpredictable,” Moon said Monday. “Public opinion is favorable to us but there are many swing voters in the Sasang district.” In the survey, around 20 percent of respondents said they have not decided who to pick. “I will change politics in Busan, which will lead to victory in the general election and eventually the presidential election,” added Moon. Sasang District has recently been making headlines as Moon, an opposition dark horse for the December presidential election, earlier declared his candidacy there. The general election is considered a litmus test for presidential candidates such as Rep. Park Geun-hye, chairwoman of the Saenuri Party, and Moon. Observers say if Moon is elected on the Saenuri Party’s home turf, he will likely be in frontrunner position for the presidential race. Moon’s popularity rose recently, putting him ahead of Park and IT mogul Ahn Cheol-soo in some polls. Meanwhile, Moon Sung-keun, a DUP Supreme Council member and head of the civic group Power to the People, also led Rep. Huh Tae-yeol of the Saenuri Party by 9.4 percentage points in the Gangseo B District, Busan. They had 41.9 and 32.5 percent, respectively. Huh is currently the lawmaker representing the district. In one surprise result, Kim Gyeong-su, a senior director of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation, earned 40.9 percent in a survey of voters in the Gimhae B District, South Gyeongsang Province. He was ahead of Saenuri Party first-term-lawmaker Kim Tae-ho who received 34 percent. Gimhae is the hometown of the late President Roh. Following the outcome of these surveys, the Saenuri Party is anxious over whom to select as candidates in order to turn the tide in the region. The troubled ruling party is wavering between fielding high-profile figures to go head-to-head with popular opposition candidates, or those who have low nationwide popularity but who are familiar with the area. The Saenuri Party is reportedly considering figures such as former party Chairman Hong Joon-pyo and Moon Dae-sung, a taekwondo gold medalist and member of the IOC Athletes Commission, to face Moon. “If Moon wins in the upcoming general election, his approval rating for presidency will jump by 10 percent. Then Park Geun-hye will lose for sure in the presidential election,” said Hong, Monday. The former party chairman earlier said he will run in any constituencies where the party orders him to. However, there are voices within the party that the strategic selection of political heavyweights in the region will only cement Moon’s position as the opposition’s strongest presidential candidate.