Moon Jae-in continues winning streak in DUP race

Moon Jae-in continues winning streak in DUP race

The four presidential hopefuls of the main opposition Democratic United Party wave during a regional primary held at Cheongju Stadium in North Chungcheong Province, Thursday. From left are Rep. Chung Sye-kyun, Kim Doo-kwan, Sohn Hak-kyu and Rep. Moon Jae-in. / Korea Times photo by Ryu Hyo-jin By Lee Tae-hoon Rep. Moon Jae-in, a human rights lawyer-turned politician, continued his winning streak Thursday in the regional primary race of the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP). He came first with 46.1 percent of the vote, or 8,132 ballots cast, in the liberal party’s fourth regional primary held in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, followed by former party Chairman Sohn Hak-kyu with 40.3 percent. Kim Doo-kwan, former South Gyeongsang Province governor, failed to narrow the gap with Sohn by securing only 11 percent of the vote, followed by another DUP former chief Chung Sye-kyun with 2.6 percent. Political watchers say Sohn’s better-than-expected performance in the latest regional election has drawn further public attention to the DUP’s selection of a presidential candidate. Nevertheless, critics point out that the opposition party will likely continue to struggle to generate excitement in the contest with far less-than-expected voters turning up at polling stations due to the adoption of mobile voting. Some DUP officials say they are frustrated to see the presidential candidates deliver speeches in front of only a handful of voters in regional primary elections. “Thus far, about 90 percent of voters have opted to cast ballots by using their cell phone, rather than investing their time to go to polling stations,” a senior party official said. “It might be an exaggeration to say this but more reporters showed up in the regional primary elections than actual voters.” In the Cheongju primary, only 322 party delegates cast a vote after listening to the speeches of the four contenders. In contrast, 16,786, or 95.1 percent of the 17,637 eligible voters in the region, participated in the in-house election by casting ballots using their mobile devices. The winner of the elections was clearly decided by the results of mobile voting in all primary elections, including the ones in Jeju, Ulsan and Gangwon Province. Despite Moon’s fourth-straight victory, the former aide to the late President Roh Moo-hyun will need to prove that his overwhelming support shown in the primary elections reflects the will of the people. “Young voters, especially followers of the late President Roh, have a strong tendency to participate in mobile voting,” a party insider said. “As older voters find it more challenging to find ways to register and cast a ballot through the new mobile voting system, it would be natural for Moon to enjoy a higher support rate in the primary race.” He pointed out that Moon will also need to address growing criticism that his rival candidates raised over possible loopholes of the primary election methods in order to revive excitement in the interparty race. Sohn alleged Thursday that the fairness of the election has been seriously hampered because Moon’s younger brother is operating a company responsible for recruiting mobile voters in the primary race. Moon is also accused of illicitly operating a campaign team that seeks to woo his supporters. Under the Public Official Election Act, “Appealing for support by means of direct telephone conversation” is banned during primary elections and might be punishable by a prison term of up to three years or a fine of up to 6 million won ($5,270). Leaders of the DUP, including its chairman Lee Hae-chan, maintain that the introduction of mobile voting has revolutionized the election culture and allowed citizens a more convenient method to select their party’s presidential candidate.