Jeon Jae-soo vows change for Busan; Park Heong-joon rallies conservative base

The two candidates vying for the Busan mayoral seat — Democratic Party of Korea's Jeon Jae-soo and People Power Party's Park Heong-joon — mounted an all-out push Tuesday, the final day of campaigning before Wednesday's election, each fighting to squeeze out every last vote. Both candidates announced grueling schedules running from early morning through the night, and each unveiled a closing message designed to tip the race in their favor.

Jeon kicked off his day at 9 a.m. at Yeongdo-gu's Daegyo intersection and swept through Seo-gu, the Hadan five-day market in Saha-gu, Jung-gu and Busanjin-gu in a high-intensity campaign blitz. His evening schedule was equally packed: from 7:40 p.m. he was set to take the campaign stage in front of the Gupo Hyundai apartment complex in Buk-gu Gap, followed by a major rally at NewCore Outlet at 8:40 p.m., with door-to-door canvassing across Buk-gu continuing until midnight. The strategy was to drive a final surge of support in Buk-gu Gap — his political home base, where his chosen successor Ha Jung-woo is running in a concurrent National Assembly by-election — by linking the mayoral and legislative races in voters' minds.

Jeon's closing message distills to a single line: "I will prove Busan's change through results, not words." His campaign made clear that the final day was about converting support into actual votes. Aides said the focus had shifted from confirming backers to ensuring they follow through at the ballot box — activating contact networks, encouraging acquaintances to vote and circulating polling-hours reminders. Social media posts were unified around one short, direct message: "Vote on Wednesday, June 3, and Busan will change."

Park began his day at 7 a.m. greeting morning commuters at the Gomnae Tunnel in Gijang-gun's Jeongwan area. He then visited Geumjeong-gu's Osige Market and a senior welfare center in Dongnae-gu before joining a free jajangmyeon meal event for elderly residents at a saemaul credit union in Centum City. In the afternoon he targeted high-traffic areas including Dongrae Market, the Busan Senior Welfare Center, Yeonsan Station and Seomyeon Station. After a finale rally in front of Judith Taehwa in Seomyeon at 7:30 p.m., he was scheduled to meet young voters along the Jeonpo cafe street.

Earlier in the day, Park held a press conference at the Busan City Council briefing room, appealing for public support with the declaration: "Busan's choice will change South Korea." He trained his fire directly on Jeon, saying, "At a time when we must accelerate Busan's rise as a world city, we cannot entrust the city's future to an incompetent candidate who deals in lies."

Park also leveled sharp criticism at the Lee Jae Myung administration while calling on conservatives to unite. He attacked the Democratic Party's push for a special prosecutor act to drop charges against the president, calling it "a dark scheme by the president to erase his own crimes with his own hands." He also took aim at the president's disclosure of his early ballot, saying: "To break the principle of secret voting and then say it doesn't matter is the arrogant belief that one stands above the law."

A local political figure said the race had favored the Democratic Party from the outset, and that turnout and the degree of conservative consolidation were the biggest remaining variables. With the Buk-gu Gap by-election running alongside the mayoral contest, the final scramble to mobilize supporters on both sides had grown fierce.