Negative Campaigns for June 13 Local Elections

With the June 13 local elections just around the corner, the election campaigns are turning increasingly ugly. Candidates are making mudslinging, accusing each other and fueling regional rivalries.

Nam Gyeong-pil, the spokesman of the Grand National Party (GNP) accused the Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) of fuelling regional sentiment. Nam said that Mr. Mun, a member of the Incheon branch of the National Election Commission was replaced with another after he was found out to be a MDP party member, but the MDP is making an issue with the replacement saying it was simply because Mun was from the ‘Honam’ region, the political base for MDP. GNP also took the issue with the suspected foreign currency flight by Kim Hong-geol, the youngest son of president Kim Dae-jung.

Meanwhile, at a press conference in the MDP party headquarter building in Yeouido, Han I-heon, the Busan mayoral candidate of MDP urged An Sang-yeong, the mayoral candidate of GNP to resign from his candidacy, after disclosing the statement by the lawyer of a victim, who allegedly had been sexually assaulted by An.

MDP also stressed that Lee Myeong-bag, the Seoul city mayoral candidate of GNP and Son Hag-gyu, the GNP candiate for Gyeonggi province governor to run out of the races because Lee had violated the election law and Son had received funds from the National Intelligence Service.

Kim Jong-pil, the United Liberal Democrats (ULD) leader said at a press conference in Daejeon that some people in Chungcheong province are being played by GNP members who are trying to drive a wedge between ULD and local people. He also appealed to voters in the region that the June 13 elections should be a chance for them to regain their pride.

Bribe and violence cases are also rampant. In Seongju, North Gyeongsang province, seven people including Mr. Park, an official at a regional branch of a major party were incarcerated in charge of giving 52 million won to members of election campaign squad and those 44 who received the money were all accused. The authorities are conducting an investigation over a violence case by several drunk men who used abusive languages to ULD members and the candidate for the magistrate of Buyeo county, South Chungnam province, who were holding an election strategy meeting.

Young-Chan Yoon Jong-Koo Yoon yyc11@donga.com jkmas@donga.com