South Korean election race heats up: Parties clash over president's role in local polls

As South Korea approaches the June 3 local elections, the leaders of the Democratic Party and the People Power Party have intensified their campaigning with starkly different messages. Democratic Party leader Rep. Jung Cheong-rae called on voters to "give strength to President Lee Jae-myung" to ensure stable national governance.

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If you want President Lee to manage state affairs stably, please vote for Democratic Party candidates.

Speaking in Wando, South Jeolla Province, while supporting local candidates, Jung stated, "If you want President Lee to manage state affairs stably, please vote for Democratic Party candidates." He further argued that supporting the party is necessary to "completely clear out the rebellion," referencing past presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak's involvement in campaigning for People Power Party candidates.

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To completely clear out the rebellion, you must give strength to Democratic Party candidates.

In contrast, People Power Party leader Rep. Jang Dong-hyuk, campaigning in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, focused his criticism on President Lee's conduct during early voting. Jang described the president's action of taking a ballot outside the polling booth and re-entering as a "clear grounds for impeachment" and an act of "election interference in front of broadcast cameras."

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The president openly campaigning in front of broadcast cameras is a clear ground for impeachment.

"If I had done such a thing, I would have been arrested yesterday," Jang asserted, urging voters to "stop Lee Jae-myung's dictatorship" by casting their ballots. Both parties have identified swing districts as their top priority for the remaining four days of the campaign, aiming to maximize voter turnout.

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You must stop Lee Jae-myung's dictatorship.