Lee Jae-myung, a candidate for the Democratic Party of Korea presidential primary, recently met with former Prime Minister Jeong Se-kyun, who is considered a leading figure in Honam, drawing interest to the background of the meeting. In the political sphere, attention is being paid to the candidate's task of proving his 'legitimacy.' For the candidate, who declared the 'conservative party' as a justification for expanding the center, overwhelming support from Honam is essential. He must resolve the resistance within the traditional supporter base to secure unity.
The public sentiment in Honam, confirmed during past party conventions and the recent re-election for the mayor of Damyang, Jeonnam, is not particularly favorable toward the candidate. The voter turnout in the Honam regional primary, starting on the 23rd, is expected to be a gauge to verify the public sentiment in his stronghold.
Comprehensive reporting on the 22nd reveals that the candidate met with the former Prime Minister just after registering as a preliminary candidate for the presidential election on the 16th. The meeting was initiated by the candidate, who said, 'I want to seek the advice of an elder.' The former Prime Minister reportedly cautioned, 'Don't make any careless remarks until the end,' and added, 'You need to understand how frightening the people are.' Notably, there were conversations indicating that 'you must not mess things up when they are almost finished.'
So far, the candidate has faced significant challenges in the Honam primary. During the convention held in 2022, where 'elected candidate Lee' was also conducted, the voting turnout among party members in Gwangju and Jeonnam/North Jeolla was only in the 30% range. Particularly, the turnout in North Jeolla was 34.07%, ranking 14th among 17 regions. Gwangju (34.18%) and Jeonnam (37.52%) ranked 13th and 10th, respectively. Although he won decisively, he received evaluations indicating that 'the sentiment in Honam is not satisfactory.'
The same was true for last year's convention. The voter turnout in Honam was in the 20% range, rendering the term 'elected candidate Lee' (with a support rate of around 90% for Lee Jae-myung) meaningless. In North Jeolla and Jeonnam, where 150,000 party members are located, only around 30,000 voted. The participation rates were 20.28% in North Jeolla and 23.17% in Jeonnam. Among 100,000 party members in Gwangju, only 25.29% participated in voting. This was half of the total turnout rate of the party members across all regions (42.18%).
The primary camp is focusing on the 'Honam voting rate.' There is lingering resentment toward the 'one-person supremacy,' as well as ongoing concerns related to trials. Although he was acquitted in the second trial under the Public Official Election Act, the final trial remains ahead, along with five other trials related to Daejang-dong and the North Korea remittance case.
This sentiment has led to the re-election of the mayor of Damyang, Jeonnam, on April 2. The Rebuilding Korea Party surpassed the Democratic Party candidate and elected its first candidate since its founding. Given the victory in the Democratic Party's stronghold, there are predictions that this will lead to changes in the local political dynamics. The candidate promising to include the spirit of May 18 in the constitution and requesting support from the Honam elder former Prime Minister Jeong is also attributed to this reason.
A camp official stated, 'There will essentially be no reversal in the primary, and rather, the Honam voter turnout will be the primary message of the primary.' He indicated that 'there is still dislike towards the candidate among long-term local politicians such as former and current city and provincial councilors and mayors,' adding, 'Naturally, since it is after martial law, a voter turnout exceeding 50% is necessary for justification. The key is whether he will be recognized as 'our candidate' in Honam.'