Ex-presidents return to campaign trail to rally conservatives ahead of local elections

SEOUL, June 1 (AJP) - Former Presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye on Sunday intensified their support for conservative candidates ahead of the upcoming June 3 local elections, making high-profile campaign appearances in the traditional conservative strongholds of the southeastern cities of Busan and Daegu in a bid to rally voters amid dim prospects.

The two former disgraced presidents, both of whom previously received prison sentences in separate corruption scandals before later being pardoned, have collectively joined campaign events 10 times in May alone as the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) seeks to prevent what many within the party fear could be a sweeping defeat by the ruling Democratic Party.

Lee, who served from 2008 to 2013, appeared with the PPP's Busan mayoral candidate Park Heong-joon and local lawmakers in Busan. His trip marked Lee's first campaign stop outside the Seoul metropolitan area during this election season.

Lee previously met Seoul mayoral candidate Oh Se-hoon in central Seoul on May 15 and separately met Gyeonggi gubernatorial candidate Yang Hyang-ja and Seoul education superintendent candidate Cho Jeon-hyuk later in the month.
  Park, South Korea's first female president who served from 2013 to 2017, campaigned in Daegu's famous Seomun Market alongside the PPP's Daegu mayoral candidate Choo Kyung-ho and local lawmakers.

Park has been campaigning extensively across the southeastern region in recent weeks. She previously visited Seomun Market with Choo on May 23 and later traveled to multiple cities including Okcheon, Daejeon, Gongju, Jinju, Yangsan, Ulsan, Busan, Wonju and Hoengseong.

PPP lawmakers defended the involvement of the two former presidents as necessary to consolidate conservative support amid concerns over declining party unity after impeached former President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law debacle in 2024.

Rep. Yoo Sang-bum of the PPP said Park was motivated by fears that conservatives could collapse politically in Daegu, long considered the "heart of conservatism."

"I think former President Park Geun-hye decided to support the campaign because she felt an urgent sense that conservatism should not completely collapse while seeing a Democratic Party wave even in Daegu," Yoo said.

"Various candidates who felt a sense of crisis that conservatives could collapse in this local election requested support from Park."

Yoo added that conservative voters were now regrouping around Park.

"There had not been a central axis for conservatives, but Park's visits to places like Daegu are helping conservative forces unite around her," he said.

"Unlike a month ago, when many expected the Democratic Party to win overwhelmingly, recent local election polls show several competitive races. I believe the two former presidents played a major role in consolidating conservatives."

Rep. Park Sung-min of the People Power Party also defended the strategy.

"The presidency belongs to the DP, the National Assembly belongs to the DP, and the judiciary belongs to the DP," Park said.
  "One-party dominance inevitably becomes corrupt, so the PPP is trying to prevent one-party rule by utilizing every possible resource."

Still, some ruling party lawmakers privately questioned the electoral impact of the appearances.

An anonymous four-term PPP lawmaker said the former presidents' support "may help somewhat, but it is unreasonable to expect a decisive change in the election."

DP candidate Kim Sang-wook, who is running for mayor of Ulsan, dismissed the campaign appearances as ineffective.

"Campaigning by former presidents from the People Power Party side is increasing, but citizens are close to indifferent," Kim said.

"It appears the PPP is trying to wage this election not through policies but through political camp mobilization."
 

Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.