Parties woo voters on eve of official campaign


The leaders of the country’s rival political forces on Wednesday continued their whirlwind tour of the country to solicit support as their candidates ready for the start of a 13-day official campaign Thursday.

The April 11 general election is shaping up to be a tight race between the ruling Saenuri Party and the opposition alliance amid widespread public dissatisfaction with established politics.

At stake are the 300 seats of the single-chamber National Assembly and some 63 public offices, including that of the mayor of Sejong, a new administrative city south of Seoul.

On Wednesday, voters living outside the country began casting their ballots in a home election for the first time in history. The overseas voting will continue through April 2. 

The highlight of Saenuri chief Park Geun-hye’s schedule Wednesday was a visit to a Buddhist temple in central Seoul, in an apparent bid to woo Buddhist voters.

She attended a service at the Jogye Temple, the headquarters of the country‘s largest Buddhist sect Jogye Order, to celebrate the inauguration of Ven. Jinje as its spiritual leader, or the Supreme Patriarch.

The Buddhist community has been at odds with the conservative ruling camp, complaining that President Lee Myung-bak, a devout Protestant, uses his church connections in running the country. The Jogye Order had once banned politicians of the Grand National Party, a precursor of Saenuri, and government officials from entering its temples in protest.

Party insiders said her visit reflects the party’s intention to better listen to the Buddhist circle.

Park will go on an extensive tour of the country starting Thursday from Seoul. The eldest daughter of former military strongman Park Chung-hee generally draws large and enthusiastic crowds on the campaign trail, and for that earned the moniker of “the queen of elections.”

On the opposition side, Han Myeong-sook, chairwoman of the main opposition Democratic United Party, traveled to Busan, home to two of the most high-profile races in this election.

Visiting the city a day after Park, Han celebrated the launch of a joint campaign by the DUP and the Unified Progressive Party. The DUP and smaller UPP have formed an alliance against the Saenuri Party, fielding almost 70 joint candidates. UPP chief Lee Jung-hee joined Han in Busan.

Liberal heavyweights, including potential presidential candidate Moon Jae-in, are running in Busan, aiming to break the Saenuri‘s long dominance in the city.
“The April election is a choice between two groups -- one focuses on improving ordinary people’s livelihoods and the other bent on red-baiting,” Han said in a meeting of party leaders in Seoul early Wednesday.

“As the election nears, the Saenuri is picking up its bad habits -- red-baiting,” the politician said, countering Park who earlier called the opposition bloc “anti-American leftists.” 


By Lee Sun-young

(milaya@heraldcorp.com)