"Wouldn’t candidate Park Chan-dae, who is close to the president, be more helpful in resolving pending issues?" (office worker Kim, surname only)
"For policy continuity, Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok should win another term." (homemaker Cho Mi-ryeong)
With the Incheon mayoral election approaching, voters in the city often called a microcosm of South Korea showed little sign of rallying behind a single party or candidate. The contest pits Park Chan-dae of the Democratic Party against Yoo Jeong-bok of the People Power Party, drawing attention as a matchup between a key figure in the Lee Jae-myung administration and an incumbent seeking a third term. It is also the only race for a metropolitan mayor in the Seoul area framed as a contest between two local natives.
At Incheon Bus Terminal in Gwangyo-dong, Michuhol-gu, taxi driver Byun Jang-su, 68, said he supports Yoo, adding he would vote for him "to keep the ruling party in check."
A 53-year-old self-employed resident, who also described himself as Incheon-born, said the city tends to choose based on candidates and pledges rather than party or the administration in power. He said he plans to vote for Yoo, citing his experience and a high rate of delivering on promises. Old downtown areas including Michuhol-gu, Jung-gu and Dong-gu have larger elderly populations and have traditionally leaned conservative; Yoo won there in the 2022 local elections.
Still, some voters signaled a shift. A 25-year-old job seeker in Jung-gu said he expects Park, a former floor leader of the ruling party, to communicate smoothly with the president and the National Assembly. A 58-year-old woman working near Sinpo International Market in Jung-gu said Yoo has done a good job but she will vote for Park, saying Park’s ties to President Lee would help address local issues.
In newer districts such as Yeonsu-gu and Seo-gu, seen as decisive battlegrounds, opinions also split. Na Hyun-ju, a 48-year-old office worker in Songdo, Yeonsu-gu, said Yoo’s performance has not been rated poorly, but some residents worry that if the mayor is from a different party than the administration, projects in Songdo such as the Incheon Tower and a tram could face difficulties. She said the mayoral race there has tilted toward the Democratic Party.
In contrast, Cho Mi-ryeong, a 43-year-old homemaker in Lu1 City in Seo-gu, said new towns still have many unresolved issues, including daily infrastructure. She said the city needs a candidate who can steadily continue current policies rather than offer new pledges, and she plans to vote for Yoo.
Centrists and unaffiliated voters appeared even more cautious. Cho Yoon-sun, a 70-year-old woman in Namdong-gu, sometimes called Incheon’s political hub, said she votes every time but has not decided yet. She said she will back the candidate whose pledges would help residents more. A man in his 70s met near Incheon City Hall also said he plans to vote but does not have a preferred candidate.
Some younger voters said they may sit out the election, saying no candidate or pledge clearly addresses problems facing their generation, including difficulty finding jobs. Noh, a 29-year-old woman in Guwol-dong, Namdong-gu, said people her age and other young voters around her have long had little interest in elections and that she does not plan to vote in the local elections.
Yoo, the incumbent mayor, is set to step down from the post on April 29 and formally announce his bid for a third term in front of City Hall. Park, a three-term lawmaker representing Incheon’s Yeonsu-gu Gap district who declared his candidacy on April 22, will also resign his parliamentary seat that day and begin campaigning in earnest.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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