(International Review) The three key issues of the Korean presidential election canvassing campaign have attracted attention

  China News Agency, Seoul, February 15th: The three key issues of the opening of the South Korean presidential election canvassing activities attract attention

  Author Liu Xu Liu Jingni

  On the 15th local time, the 20th South Korean presidential election campaign officially kicked off.

In the next 22 days, 14 presidential candidates, including Lee Jae-myung from the ruling Democratic Party of South Korea, Yoon Seok-yue from the opposition National Power, An Cheol-soo from the National Party, and Shen Sang-seo from the Justice Party, will travel around the country to pray for votes and start a campaign to canvass votes.

With the continued spread of the new crown pneumonia in South Korea and the indistinguishable support ratings of the two major candidates, how this presidential election will be conducted smoothly and safely, and how the winner will be determined in the end, has aroused great attention from public opinion.

 As the epidemic spreads, how to ensure the smooth conduct of the general election?

  With the spread of the mutant strain of Omicron, the number of newly confirmed cases of the new crown in South Korea in a single day has exceeded 50,000 for 6 consecutive days, and the cumulative number of confirmed cases has exceeded 1.46 million.

The South Korean government expects that the number of confirmed cases in a single day may reach 130,000 to 170,000 by the end of this month, and the spreading epidemic has exacerbated concerns about the presidential election.

  On the 14th local time, the South Korean National Assembly convened a plenary meeting to review and approve amendments to the "Public Office Election Act" to protect the voting rights of confirmed new crown cases and quarantined people.

According to the amendment, the above-mentioned persons can vote on the polling day of the presidential election (March 9) from 6:00 to 7:30 pm, and the travel tools are provided by the government.

  South Korean President Moon Jae-in made a positive comment on the amendment on the 15th local time. He also said that in the case of a surge in the number of new cases, in order to protect the voting rights of all voters, the relevant departments should be fully prepared to ensure a fair election. , Safely.

  On the other hand, candidates of various parties also took into account the epidemic situation when designing their canvassing activities, and chose to make full use of traditional election vehicles to deliver commitment videos, slogans, posters and other materials to voters in the form of vehicles for a long time and in a wide area.

Li Zaiming and Yin Xiyue also carried out "non-face-to-face canvassing" in combination with media technology: Li Zaiming released a TV advertisement called "Letter", starting with "for those who hate Li Zaiming", first suppressed and then raised, and pointed out his The electoral advantage of "Economic President"; Yin Xiyue sent a video message to her party members through "AI Yin Xiyue", calling on party members to actively convince the voters around them to vote for it.

The election is stalemate, who will be better in "Seoul trip" or "Busan trip"?

  According to the survey results of the presidential candidate approval rate released by the Korea Institute of Public Opinion on the 14th, Yoon Seok-yue, the presidential candidate of the National Powers, the largest opposition party in South Korea, leads the ruling party Common Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung (40.4%) with 43.5% of the approval rate, but the gap is It is within the margin of error and the magnitude is as small as that seen in previous general elections.

  Previously, both Li Zaiming and Yin Xiyue were involved in scandals, and the two attacked each other, blurring core issues such as economy and social welfare.

However, on the first day of the candidate canvassing, the itineraries of the candidates returned to the theme of economy and politics, and tried to convey a labelled message to the people: Lee Jae-myung, who has always used "economy" as his campaign keyword, chose to visit South Korea as a symbol of the export economy. At Busan Port, a sex place, they met with the staff of export shipping ships and created their image as an "economic president with strong ability to deal with crises"; while Yin Xiyue set the first stop at Cheonggye Plaza in Seoul, reflecting his "going out of the Blue House to observe the people's sentiments" "Government Vision.

  South Korea's YTN TV commented that Lee Jae-ming chose the "Seoul trip" of "Busan-Daegu-Daejeon-Seoul", while Yin Xiyue chose the "Busan trip" of "Seoul-Daegu-Daegu-Busan".

On the one hand, the trip of the two covered important cities with a large population in South Korea, and on the other hand, it also reflected their response measures under the severe epidemic situation and the downward pressure on the economy.

Lee prioritized going to Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam, which have strong conservative tendencies, emphasizing "national integration" and export-driven economic development strategies; while starting from Seoul and formulating detailed development plans for each region reflects Yin's commitment to breaking the existing The government and the ruling party rule, with the determination of the "Asian Highway" plan to achieve prosperity and harmony in all regions.

  "Korea Ilbo" believes that there are still 22 days before the election. No matter what route candidates choose to canvass votes, it is still unknown how the new government will solve domestic and foreign issues such as soaring real estate prices, difficulties in the survival of individual businesses, and negotiations on the North Korean nuclear issue.

 Can jointly promoting a single candidate break the game for the opposition party?

  When the election of Li Yin and Yin was anxious, the opposition party jointly promoting a single candidate was enough to become an important variable to change the situation of the war.

According to Yonhap News Agency, after completing the registration of candidates on the 13th, Ahn Zhexiu formally proposed to Yin Xiyue to select a single candidate through a public opinion poll campaign to achieve a more stable regime change.

  A single candidate means that when the candidates of the opposition parties are difficult to obtain an absolute majority of votes and win an overwhelming victory, they choose to negotiate and cooperate with other parties, and jointly elect a candidate with the unanimous consent of the supporters of the two parties and the voters who have not yet supported. .

Previously, the two parties successfully used this method to jointly promote a single candidate in the Seoul mayoral by-election last year.

  But while the outside world is focusing on the promotion of a single candidate, the battle between Yin An and the two has intensified.

Although Yin Xiyue has stated in interviews several times, as long as the two sides trust each other and adhere to the correct direction of regime change, the proposal of adopting a single candidate cannot be ruled out.

However, Yin immediately expressed his objection to the "conduct through public opinion polls" proposed by An, and it is expected that the differences will continue in the short term.

  South Korea's "Asia Daily" believes that the simplification plan previously mentioned by Yin Xiyue's team is not an equal merger, but forcing the other party back.

At present, Yin Xiyue's approval rate has an advantage over An Zhexiu, and it is impossible to let go at the last minute.

And considering the damage to his political prestige, it is unlikely that An Zhexiu will take the initiative to make concessions and reproduce the situation of "An withdrawal" in the 2011 and 2021 Seoul mayoral by-elections (the Korean word "Zhexiu" and "withdrawal" are the same).

Analysis believes that both Yin An and both parties are relatively firm at present. If there is no concession from one party, the simplification dispute may continue until the election day and eventually go bankrupt.

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