Ruling and Opposition Parties Launch All-Out Efforts to Rally Support: Ruling Party Targets Starbucks and Ilbe, Opposition Rallies Around Park Geunhye

9 Days to the June 3 Local Elections

On May 25, nine days before the 9th National Simultaneous Local Elections on June 3, both the ruling and opposition parties launched a full-scale campaign to rally their bases.

On the 24th, a mail carrier is delivering election pamphlets for the 9th National Simultaneous Local Elections at an apartment in Mapo District, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

The Democratic Party of Korea put the spotlight on the controversy surrounding Starbucks' "5·18 Tank Day" marketing and intensified its offensive against Ilbe Storage, a far-right online community.

Jung Cheongrae, the chief standing election campaign chair, instructed local election candidates and campaign officials to refrain from visiting Starbucks. He also sponsored a bill to punish mockery or insults related to the 5·18 Democratization Movement, further tightening the party’s offensive.

The Democratic Party also aligned itself with President Lee Jaemyung’s recent call for the shutdown of the Ilbe site, stating, "We agree with the President's view." Cho Seungrae, the party’s secretary-general, suggested regulation, saying, "Should we tolerate repeated and systematic acts of hate and exclusion that go against common sense on sites like Ilbe? I believe we should proceed according to legal and administrative procedures as stipulated by the relevant regulations."

In contrast, the People Power Party is using these controversies as a means to further consolidate the conservative camp. Jang Donghyeok, the party's standing election campaign chair, said during a campaign rally in Incheon the previous day, "Let's go to the polls with Starbucks coffee in hand." At the Central Election Committee meeting on this day, he added, "In this election, the target of the ‘Song of the Bamboo Spear’ is Starbucks. Is it the ‘Song of the Bamboo Spear’ or Starbucks? We ask the people to render judgment."

The People Power Party is also seeking to rally conservatives by bringing former President Park Geunhye, known as the "Queen of Elections," to the fore. On May 23, former President Park began her campaign support by visiting a traditional market in Daegu with Choo Kyungho, the party's mayoral candidate for Daegu. This was her first appearance at a campaign rally in nine years since her impeachment in 2017.

The Democratic Party strongly criticized former President Park’s actions, calling them "an insult to the people." Choo Mi-ae, the Democratic Party's candidate for Gyeonggi Governor, said, "Park Geunhye, who should spend her life apologizing to the people as the main figure in the state affairs scandal, is brazenly smiling and walking around the campaign trail. This cannot be tolerated." Kim Youngho, a Democratic Party lawmaker and co-chair of the campaign for Jung Wono, the party’s candidate for Seoul Mayor, posted on social media, "Having produced two former presidents who were removed from office through impeachment for undermining constitutional order and after being judged by the people, yet showing no remorse and instead bringing those names back to the forefront of politics, is an insult to the people."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.