“Still, it's not the People Power Party. The Democratic Party should have the presidency.” (70s citizen Park Mo)
“This time, I’m going to vote for the new face, candidate Lee Jun-seok.” (20-year-old college student Kim Mo)
On the 19th at 7 p.m. at the rear gate of Chonnam National University in Buk-gu, Gwangju, when Lee Jun-seok, the candidate from the Reform Party, campaigned, citizens passing by gathered around one after another.
Historically, Gwangju has a large number of progressive voters, which is considered a 'rough ground' for conservative politicians. Especially after the May 1980 Gwangju Uprising, when many casualties occurred due to the military junta, distrust toward conservative parties became even more deeply rooted.
Chonnam National University, a regional key university, was the center of student resistance during the May 18 Gwangju Uprising. It was the site of the first protest that ignited the struggle. Currently, the area around the rear gate of Chonnam National University has transformed into a representative shopping district and downtown area.
In fact, since 1987, all conservative presidential candidates recorded low voter turnout in Gwangju.
During the 17th presidential election, the candidate from the Grand National Party, Lee Myung-bak, who recorded a 48.67% voter turnout, only received 8.59% in Gwangju. In the 18th presidential election, Park Geun-hye, the candidate from the Saenuri Party (voter turnout 51.6%), also received only 7.76% in Gwangju.
The same was true in the 19th presidential election. Hong Joon-pyo, the candidate from the Liberty Korea Party, obtained 1.55%, recording the lowest voter turnout in Gwangju among candidates since 1987.
However, in the 20th presidential election, Yoon Suk-yeol, the candidate from the People Power Party, achieved the first double-digit voter turnout (12.72%) in Gwangju.
In fact, the voting sentiment of middle-aged voters met on that day mostly leaned toward the Democratic Party of Korea.
Choi Mo, in their 60s, who was walking on the Chonnam National University campus, said, “I plan to vote for the Democratic Party candidate again,” adding, “I feel very disappointed seeing the internal chaos of the People Power Party, and candidate Lee Jun-seok seems too inexperienced.” They further noted, “At this moment, I think candidate Lee Jae-myung is the right person for the presidency.”
Park Mo, in their 70s, who passed nearby, also stated, “I think candidate Lee Jae-myung is the best,” saying, “He did a good job when he was the governor of Gyeonggi Province and revitalized the region. I believe he will also revive the national economy.”
However, the young voters gathered that day voiced different opinions. Around 200 young voters gathered at the scene to support the candidate.
They actively expressed their support by chanting the candidate's name loudly. When the candidate shouted, “We must punish the party that engages in electoral manipulation. Do you agree?” they all responded with “Yes.”
The candidate dedicated energy to criticizing Lee Jae-myung, the candidate from the Democratic Party of Korea, from the podium that day. He criticized, saying, “This is the move of a dictator trying to manipulate the judicial system and undermine the separation of powers,” and added, “This person is someone who democracy in South Korea should most reject, considered utterly opposed to the May 18 democracy.”
Kim Mo (20), a freshman at Chonnam National University, said, “I originally intended to vote for another candidate, but candidate Lee Jun-seok showed a logical appearance in yesterday's TV debate, so I was drawn to him,” and expressed, “I wanted to hear what he is saying today.”
Jung Yeon-joo (27), a graduate student at Chonnam National University, mentioned, “I have traditionally supported progressive candidates, but this time I intend to vote for candidate Lee Jun-seok.”
Jung noted, “I got angry seeing politicians pouring out unfavorable National Pension policies for the youth,” saying, “I felt good about his intention to actively reform National Pension.”