On the ground in North Jeolla, a battleground province
30-year Democratic stronghold faces first serious independent challenge
Incumbent Kim Kwan-young holds name recognition edge, draws sympathy vote
Ruling-party candidate Lee Won-taek hopes to ride pro-government wave
Nomination controversy deepens divide, pointing to a neck-and-neck finish
"I'm voting for Kim Kwan-young for governor and going with Rebuilding Korea Party for the provincial assembly seat." "Anyone who got passed over for nomination and then went out to embarrass the Democratic Party is a traitor — I won't vote for that." "Doesn't matter which one you pick, they're all the same."
Those were the words traded among about a dozen residents in their 50s and 60s at an outdoor café in Deokjin Sports Park in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, where a heated argument over Democratic Party of Korea candidate Lee Won-taek and independent candidate Kim Kwan-young was well underway.
The North Jeolla gubernatorial race — where the rule that "a Democratic Party nomination equals a win" has held without exception since civilian local elections began in 1995 — is showing signs of cracking. Kim, the sitting governor running as an independent, has stirred up the contest and thrown the outcome into uncertainty. Of the seven residents interviewed that day, four said they supported Kim, two backed Lee, and one said they had yet to make up their mind.
Baek Won-gi, 59, said he would vote for Lee based on party loyalty. "I don't want to vote for someone who badmouths the Democratic Party and divides it," he said. Kim Dae-jong, 58, took the opposite view. "Better the devil you know — he's a seasoned former Assembly member turned governor," he said of Kim Kwan-young. "The way he's pushed through big projects, like the bid to host the Summer Olympics in Jeonju and the investment agreement with Hyundai Motor Co., shows he has real clout."
Anger at the party leadership also ran high. Yang Yong-hui, 60, directed her frustration at the current leadership. "Whether you paid directly or had someone else cover it, both were problems — yet Kim Kwan-young was expelled without a single investigation," she said. "Running the nomination process like this shows they look down on North Jeolla."
The controversy traces back to late last year, when closed-circuit television footage emerged showing Kim paying roughly 910,000 won (about $605) to cover a designated-driver fee at a dinner with local young people. The party leadership expelled him within half a day of the allegation surfacing.
Lee, meanwhile, faced his own allegation — that roughly 700,000 won worth of meal expenses had been paid on his behalf — but the party's ethics and inspection committee cleared him of wrongdoing, allowing him to stand as the Democratic Party candidate.
On the ground, opinions diverged less over the individual candidates' conduct than over whether the party's nomination process had been fair. Kim Jeong-nam, 49, a Wansan-gu resident, defended Kim Kwan-young. "There's a Democratic Party banner hanging in front of my house that reads, 'Cash handouts, lies and politics — let's deliver a verdict at the ballot box,'" he said. "Seeing them put up a banner like that against someone who used to be in the same party, I thought he had every right to feel wronged and run as an independent."
Some sympathy for Kim Kwan-young was also evident. Park Woo-eok, 76, a vendor at Moraenae Market, said he had never voted for anyone other than the Democratic Party in his life — but added: "That man (Kim Kwan-young) must have been devastated when he lost the nomination."
At the same time, many residents, as might be expected in a Democratic stronghold, said they felt the party's candidate deserved their support to strengthen President Lee Jae Myung's government. A vendor at Moraenae Market who gave only a surname, Yoo, 69, said President Lee was doing well and the ruling party needed to be empowered. Jeong Seong-min, 50, of Deokjin-gu, said he had supported Kim Kwan-young but believed the party had its reasons for withholding the nomination. "I'm going to trust the party's judgment," he said.
As the sitting governor, Kim Kwan-young held a clear advantage in name recognition. Against that backdrop, some in North Jeolla were framing the race in effect as a contest between supporters and opponents of Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae.
A delivery worker who gave only a surname, Kim, 67, said Jung appeared to be "doing politics as a form of personal grievance." "I support the Democratic Party, but the leadership keeps pushing so hard that fatigue is building up," he said.
A diner surnamed Jo, 60, eating at a restaurant near the market, said Jung's approach did not feel like it was about nominations for North Jeolla's benefit. Choi, 60, a resident of Samcheon-dong, said she had always hoped North Jeolla would produce a figure with real influence. "But watching this, it looks like they treat the governorship as a prize to hand out to whoever they like — and that's deeply disappointing," she said.
Noh Bong-rae, 65, of Wansan-gu, was blunter. "The days when you could stick a walking stick in the ground and win are over," he said. "If the Democratic Party thinks North Jeolla is a fish already caught, that would be a big mistake."
Not everyone was critical of the leadership. A Jeonbuk National University student surnamed Jo, 23, said he had backed Jung for pushing a one-person, one-vote system and working to revitalize intra-party democracy. "There's talk of a 'new Lee Jae Myung' phenomenon, but I think Jung holds more of the Democratic Party's legitimacy, and I respect his decisions on nominations," he said.
Many residents said they still had not decided. Kim Byeong-nam, 60, who runs a fish stall, said livelihoods mattered more than political infighting. He said he had tried several times to apply for small-business policy loans but kept turning back because the application process was too complicated. "I'm looking for whichever candidate will support people's daily lives with a proper financial policy," he said.
kido@heraldcorp.com
