5,000 citizens in Saenuri’s home turf sign up for Moon

Lee Jung-woo, left, a former policy advisor to the late President Roh Moo-hyun, gives a speech during the anniversary of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation in Daegu, Nov. 24, last year. At right is Moon Jae-in, a leading presidential candidate hopeful of the opposition Democratic United Party. / Courtesy of Roh Moo-hyun Foundation

Nearly 5,000 citizens living in the southeastern city of Daegu, home turf of the ruling Saenuri Party, signed a document showing their intention to support Rep. Moon Jae-in of the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) for president.

“It is quite rare for so many citizens living in the city to have shown their support for the liberal DUP frontrunner,” said Lee Jung-woo, a professor of economics at Kyungpook National University.

“People in Daegu are changing. The young generation is the driving force to that change in this conservative home district.”

Daegu is the home town of Rep. Park Geun-hye of the Saenuri Party. The presidential candidate is overwhelmingly popular there because conservative voters hold nostalgia for the late President Park Chung-hee.

Since July, Prof. Lee has spearheaded a rare campaign for Rep. Moon, the former presidential chief of staff to the late former President Roh Moo-hyun.

Moon is the DUP frontrunner. The main opposition party is scheduled to announce the winner of the nationwide primaries this Sunday. If Moon fails to garner 50 percent or more of support from the primaries, he will have to compete with a runner-up in a run-off election.

Prof. Lee served as a policy advisor on economic affairs for the late President while he was in power. His ties with Rep. Moon, another Roh aide, seemed to have prompted the economist to launch the campaign.

The economist said that people from all walks of life, including students, opinion leaders and DUP members of the region, joined the campaign.

He said Moon is the right presidential candidate who can narrow the income gap between affluent and working-class citizens.

The professor was critical of the Lee Myung-bak government, claiming a stimulus package to create domestic demands would be short-lived.

“Only conglomerates will be better off under the Lee government because it adopted policies aimed at easing regulations for businesses and tax cuts,” he said.

He said an income gap between the haves and the have-nots emerged after Lee took office in February 2008 and that social inequality has surfaced as the top policy challenge.

Born in Daegu, Professor Lee studied at Harvard University in 1983. <The Korea Times/Ryu Chang-gi>

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