Intensified Pressure for Candidate Unification in Busan North Gap Election

6.3 National Assembly by-elections are heating up in Busan North Gap, where Hah Jung-woo of the Democratic Party and Han Dong-hoon, an independent candidate, are in a tight race. As pressure mounts for unification between Han and Park Min-sik of the People Power Party, the party is showing signs of division.

According to political sources on May 21, Han has recorded a lead in support for the first time in the three-way race for the Busan North Gap by-election. Previously, Hah had consistently led in polls, but recent data shows a shift. A survey conducted by Channel A and Research & Research from May 17 to 19 among 500 eligible voters in the Busan North Gap district revealed Han with 34.6% support, Hah with 32.9%, and Park with 20.5%. The margin between Han and Hah is within the poll's margin of error of 1.7 percentage points (conducted via 100% mobile phone interviews, with a sample error of ±4.4 percentage points at a 95% confidence level and a response rate of 10%).

In a hypothetical two-candidate scenario, Han also outperformed Hah. In a potential matchup between Hah and Park, Hah led with 42.6% to Park's 32.4%. However, in a direct contest between Han and Hah, Han garnered 44.1% compared to Hah's 37.6%. This suggests that calls for unification behind Han may gain traction.

Within the People Power Party, voices urging for unification are growing louder. Representative Park Soo-young called on party leadership to make a decision regarding candidate unification for Busan North Gap. He reportedly stated in a group chat among lawmakers, "My district, Busan Nam-gu, is currently trailing by 10-15 percentage points against the Democratic Party, and without decisive action from the Busan city party and the central party, the election will be difficult." Most Busan lawmakers who gathered on May 17 also expressed support for unifying conservative candidates.

Busan mayoral candidate Park Hyung-jun said on May 19, "If we create momentum through candidate unification in Busan North Gap, it will positively impact the overall elections in Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam. Nearly 70% of the People Power Party's supporters want unification, and responding to this is the candidates' public duty."

However, Park and other leaders within the People Power Party maintain their opposition to unification. Park stated that a strategic unification would be a betrayal of the residents of North Gap, asserting, "Han is someone who has inflicted irreparable damage on the conservative camp." Earlier, party leader Jang Dong-hyuk also remarked on May 15 that "a unification based solely on vote calculations does not align with conservative values," emphasizing that the issue of unification should reflect the will of party members and the party itself.