Presidential candidates enter final full week of campaigning

Presidential candidates on Monday kicked off their final full week of campaigning with polls still indicating a dead heat between ruling party nominee Lee Jae-myung and main opposition candidate Yoon Suk-yeol.

Lee of the liberal Democratic Party (DP) headed to the country’s southeast, including the cities of Pohang, Gyeongju and Daegu, to rally the support of the traditionally conservative base.

Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the ruling Democratic Party, receives a bouquet from a boy during a campaign stop in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, on Feb. 28, 2022, ahead of the March 9 election. (Yonhap)

He recalled that on Sunday, his party adopted a set of political reforms as part of its platform to fulfill its promise for national unity.

The measures include electoral reforms aimed at ensuring the political participation of minor parties and a constitutional revision changing the single five-year presidential term to a renewable four-year term.

Later Monday, Lee is set to visit his hometown of Andong to meet with voters there.

Yoon of the conservative People Power Party headed northeast to the cities of Donghae, Gangneung, Sokcho, Hongcheon and Chuncheon in Gangwon Province.

On the campaign trail, he blasted the DP for trying to introduce political reforms days before the election after “doing nothing” during its five years in power.

“They must think the people are crayfish, crabs and carp,” he said. “Political reform happens when we replace this atrocious administration of the Democratic Party.”

Yoon also accused the current administration and Lee of trying to buy votes with COVID-19 relief handouts and being complacent in their response to the Ukraine crisis and North Korea’s latest missile launch on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Ahn Cheol-soo, the candidate of the minor opposition People’s Party, stumped the liberal stronghold of North Jeolla Province, making stops in Gochang, Jeongeup, Jeonju and Iksan.

He renewed his resolve to finish the presidential race on his own despite the lingering hopes of conservatives for a merger deal that will ensure Yoon’s victory over Lee.

“Democracy isn’t about unseating someone you don’t like,” Ahn said during a campaign rally in Gochang. “Democracy is about choosing the person who is qualified and able to develop the country and getting them elected.”

On Sunday, Yoon told a press conference the two campaigns were near a deal but Ahn backed out. Ahn retorted that Yoon’s side had nothing new to propose.

“The size of authority is proportionate to the size of responsibility,” he told reporters in Jeongeup on Monday, claiming that all responsibility for a failed merger will fall on Yoon’s party if it loses the election.

Sim Sang-jeung, the candidate of the minor progressive Justice Party, cast herself as the only candidate who will fully realize peace.

While campaigning in Gangneung, she said her “heart became solemn” at the sight of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy taking up arms and defending his country in the face of Russia’s invasion.

“A certain presidential candidate said war broke out because of a novice president, but the entire world, let alone the Ukrainian people, has been moved as Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has put on a military uniform, carried a gun and defended Ukraine’s capital,” she said, taking a swipe at Lee for his controversial comments last week.

Monday is the last day of voting for overseas Koreans. Tuesday will mark the start of voting for sailors aboard their ships. Early voting will kick off Friday for two days across the nation.