With two days to go before voting in the June 3 local elections and National Assembly by-elections, leaders of the ruling and opposition parties fanned out across the country Monday for a last-ditch campaign blitz.
Jung Chung-rae, the Democratic Party of Korea's chief election campaign committee chairman, presided over the final field meeting of the party's central election committee in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, throwing his support behind Park Soo-hyun, the party's candidate for South Chungcheong governor. Jung had visited the Chungcheong region seven times between May 21, the first day of official campaigning, and Sunday — a sign that analysts say the party views the central region as a pivotal battleground in this election.
At the meeting, Jung said he had returned to Cheonan "on Monday, June 1, the day before the final day of campaigning," adding, "I hope the positive energy from South Chungcheong will send a blue wave sweeping across the country and make this an election that gives strength to President Lee Jae Myung and restores South Korea to normalcy with capable local governments."
Jung then traveled to Goesan-gun in North Chungcheong Province to stump for the party's North Chungcheong governor candidate, before heading to Andong in North Gyeongsang Province and Ulsan in the afternoon to back gubernatorial candidate Oh Jung-ki and Ulsan mayoral candidate Kim Sang-uk. Han Byung-do, a co-chairman of the party's standing election committee, joined the South Chungcheong field meeting before touring campaign events for local candidates in Boeun, Okcheon, Chungju and Cheongju in North Chungcheong. Meanwhile, Jang Dong-hyeok, the People Power Party's standing election committee chairman, made stops in Jeju and Ulsan to court last-minute voters. On Sunday afternoon, Jang had visited Hongdae Station, Seongsu-dong and the CGV cinema near Gangnam Station — all areas with heavy foot traffic among younger voters — urging them to cast ballots on election day.
Wearing an apron reading "Freedom of a Cup of Coffee" — a nod to a recent controversy surrounding Starbucks — and carrying pickets that read "If you're angry, go to the polls on June 3" and "A choice to protect freedom and everyday life," Jang walked the streets calling on citizens to vote for the People Power Party.
Rather than mounting a campaign vehicle to deliver speeches, Jang focused on maximizing direct contact with citizens on foot.
Song Eon-seog, a co-chairman of the party's election committee, visited Dalseong-gun in Daegu to support Lee Jin-suk, the PPP's candidate in the National Assembly by-election there, before moving to Gyeonggi Province to join campaign events for Osan mayoral candidate Lee Gwon-jae and Gyeonggi gubernatorial candidate Yang Hyang-ja.
Amid all this, the Rebuilding Korea Party launched a "63-hour blue relay campaign" across the country starting Sunday. Lee Hae-min, the party's national campaign director, told reporters Monday morning that the Democratic Party leadership, "as the elder sibling of the progressive camp, should look at the national election — not just Pyeongtaek-eul," urging the Democrats to broaden their focus. "We will win through Cho Kuk, the real candidate who will uphold the pride of Pyeongtaek's citizens and defend the values of democracy," he said. The Reform Party held a field meeting of its central election committee at the campaign office of Jeong Seung-yeon, its National Assembly candidate for Incheon's Yeonsu-gu Gap constituency. Party leader Lee Jun-seok said the two major parties "hide behind their organizational machinery, while our candidates absorb every attack with their whole bodies," adding, "The one and only path to bringing truth forward sooner is your vote on June 3."
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