This combined photo taken May 16, 2025, shows the presidential candidates of South Korea’s major political parties — (from L to R) Lee Jae-myung of the liberal Democratic Party, Kim Moon-soo of the conservative People Power Party and Lee Jun-seok of the minor conservative New Reform Party — making stump speeches in the southwestern city of Iksan, Suwon, near Seoul, and the central city of Cheonan, respectively, ahead of the June 3 presidential election. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, May 16 (Korea Bizwire) — Democratic Party (DP) candidate Lee Jae-myung appealed to voters in North Jeolla Province on Friday, while People Power Party (PPP) candidate Kim Moon-soo headed to battleground regions in the Gyeonggi and South Chungcheong provinces.
With the official campaigns for the June 3 presidential election entering the fifth day, Lee appeared to solidify his support in the region, a stronghold for the DP, while Kim sought to woo centrist voters in the battleground region.
The June 3 presidential vote is being held to pick a successor to former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was ousted over his failed martial law bid.
So far, the DP’s Lee has kept a solid lead in opinion polls in a three-way race that also includes Lee Jun-seok of the minor New Reform Party.
A Gallup Korea survey conducted this week showed that the DP’s Lee was leading Kim with 51 percent support against Kim’s 29 percent. The minor party’s Lee came third with 8 percent.
Lee Jae-myung started the day by visiting Iksan and Gunsan in North Jeolla Province before meeting young traditional musicians in the southwestern city of Jeonju.
He then held a campaign rally at the back gate of Jeonbuk National University and will wrap up his day in the southwestern city of Jeongeup.
Speaking to reporters in Jeonju, Lee addressed the need to raise electricity fees in the long term.
“Although the current economic situation makes it difficult to adjust electricity rates immediately, a long-term increase is inevitable,” he said.
He also called for differentiated pricing, calling it “unreasonable” for residents living near coal and nuclear power plants despite the environmental pollution to pay the same electricity rates as those using energy from distant areas.
The PPP’s Kim campaigned in the greater Seoul area, which is considered a barometer of public sentiment, and sought to gain support in the key battleground of the central region.
Kim started off by greeting commuters at Pangyo in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, and held a campaign rally at a traditional market in Suwon.
At Dongtan train station on the southern outskirts of the capital, he announced his pledge to build a country connected by the Great Train Express (GTX), vowing to expand it beyond the metropolitan area to major cities such as Busan and Daejeon.
“The rapid population growth in the metropolitan area and the construction of new cities have exacerbated traffic congestion, causing significant inconvenience to residents,” he said.
He then headed to the central cities of Cheonan, Sejong, Cheongju and Daejeon. In Sejong, he plans to visit the site of the planned relocation of the National Assembly building and announce his pledge to develop the administrative capital.
Meanwhile, Lee of the minor New Reform Party unveiled his pledge to transform Busan into a global data hub by establishing a “data special zone.”
He also announced plans to introduce a special law that would require explicit consent from a data subject or approval from an independent committee to view, copy or utilize high-risk sensitive information even if a search and seizure warrant has been issued.
(Yonhap)
