Former President Park Geun-hye made two campaign visits to Daegu shortly before the city's mayoral election [1].
The appearances were viewed as a strategic effort to secure a victory for the People Power Party in a race that proved more competitive than internal expectations suggested.
Park visited Chilseong Market and Seomun Market in the days leading up to the vote [1]. Analysts said the move was a surprising tactical shift after exit poll results indicated a narrow margin between candidates.
Jeong Kwang-jae, an analyst, said the exit polls were shocking because the race was expected to be less contested. Jeong said he had previously expected candidate Choo Kyung-ho to win by a margin of over five percentage points [1].
The decision to deploy the former president suggests the People Power Party recognized the race was not following the predicted trajectory. Jeong said the visits to Chilseong Market, and subsequently Seomun Market, indicated that the party realized internally the election was not flowing as expected [1].
Park's presence in Daegu, often referred to as the heart of South Korean conservatism, was intended to mobilize voters and solidify support for the party's candidate. The timing of the visits, occurring just before the polls closed, underscores the urgency felt by party leadership regarding the exit poll data [1].
“The visits were intended to boost the People Power Party’s chances in a mayoral race that was turning out to be much closer than expected.”
The deployment of a former president to mobilize voters in a stronghold like Daegu indicates a significant miscalculation in the People Power Party's initial polling. By utilizing Park Geun-hye's influence to narrow a gap revealed by exit polls, the party attempted a high-stakes intervention to prevent an upset in a traditionally safe conservative district.
