The Democratic Party of Korea already appears to be putting a lot of effort into Busan ahead of the 2028 general elections.
The party leadership held a budget policy council meeting at Busan City Hall on the 2nd, and two weeks later, on the 16th, they held a supreme committee meeting at the Busan City Party and promised to complete the 'Marine Capital Busan'.
In particular, CEO Kim Min-seok predicted at a youth meeting in the Busan area on the 3rd, "The main battlefield in the 2028 general election will be Busan and the Nakdong River," and stayed in Busan for 3 days and 2 nights from the 16th to take care of local issues.
In this situation, the Nakdong River Belt, including Buk-gu, Sasang-gu, Saha-gu, and Gangseo-gu, along the Nakdong River on both sides, is a place where the progressive camp is relatively strong in Busan, where conservatives are strong, so it is expected to be a major target for the Democratic Party in the next general election, but the political terrain is still difficult to predict.
Buk-gu is where Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo won his third term as a member of the Democratic Party, and Sasang-gu is a meaningful area where former President Moon Jae-in was elected to the 19th National Assembly.
In Saha-gu Gap, Choi In-ho, president of the Housing and Urban Guarantee Corporation (HUG), served as a re-elected lawmaker, and Saha-gu is where People Power Party lawmaker Kyung-tae Cho was elected to his third term under the Democratic Party flag before switching his party affiliation to the conservative party.
Gangseo-gu has a history of building a fandom for the late former President Roh Moo-hyun, who earned the nickname 'Foolish Roh Moo-hyun' after running as a candidate for the Democratic Party in the 2000 general election with the goal of overcoming regionalism.
In the last June 3 local election, all heads of the four basic organizations in the West Nakdong River Belt were elected as Democratic Party members.
However, the Democratic Party gave up all constituencies in Busan to the People Power Party in the 2024 general election, except for Buk-gu Gap, which Mayor Jeon Jae-soo won.
In the Buk-gu Gap National Assembly by-election held along with the June 3 local elections, National AI Strategy Committee Vice Chairman Ha Jeong-woo, who ran as the Democratic Party candidate, was defeated by independent candidate Han Dong-hoon.
In the next general election, the northern district is expected to become an arena of intense competition between the ruling and opposition parties.
As Buk-gu Gap and Buk-gu Eul are scheduled to be merged due to population decline, competition among opposition candidates for nomination is bound to be fierce.
The biggest variable is whether Rep. Han Dong-hoon will be reinstated to the People Power Party, and former Rep. Park Min-sik, the head of the Buk-gu-gap regional committee, and Rep. Park Seong-hoon, based in Buk-gu-eul, have predicted an uncompromising battle.
In the Democratic Party, Buk-gu Mayor Chung Myung-hee is acting as the Buk-gu Eul regional committee chairman, but it is known that Vice Chairman Ha Jung-woo will soon step down as Buk-gu Gap regional committee chairman, so a new focus must be found.
In addition, in Saha-eul, the local general election structure is expected to fluctuate depending on the actions of People Power Party lawmaker Kyung-tae Cho, whose party membership was suspended.
This is because if Rep. Cho leaves the party and runs as an independent candidate, there is a high possibility that a three-party structure will be formed between the new People Power Party candidate and former Busan City Party Chairman Lee Jae-seong of the Democratic Party.
The general analysis of local politics is that fierce competition will take place in Saha Gap in the 'return match' between People Power Party lawmaker Lee Seong-kwon and Democratic Party member HUG president Choi In-ho.
In Sasang-gu, People Power Party lawmaker Kim Dae-sik and Democratic Party proportional representation lawmaker Park Hong-bae, who recently became Sasang-gu regional committee chair, are expected to clash.
In Gangseo-gu, People Power Party lawmaker Kim Do-eup and former Democratic Party city party chairman Byun Seong-wan are already competing to capture public sentiment.
