Ruling party leader Han Dong-hoon appealed to voters Thursday to cast their ballots in the early voting set to start later this week, especially calling on shy voters to go to the polls to bring “a victory to the country.”
Han, leader of the People Power Party (PPP), made the appeal as South Korea is set to begin the two-day early voting Friday, days ahead of the parliamentary elections slated for Wednesday and seen as a referendum for the government of President Yoon Suk Yeol at its midterm in office.
“Let’s not care about those who say, ‘We lose if we vote in advance, if we have a high turnout,’ but everyone please vote only thinking that ‘we win if I vote,’ and ‘the Republic of Korea wins if we vote,'” Han said during a press briefing at the party headquarters.
Han especially encouraged “shy voters” to come out and cast their votes, emphasizing that every ballot will count to fight off “potential criminals or unabashed candidates,” apparently referring to some candidates from the opposition bloc that ha
ve come under criticism for various allegations and ethical lapses.
“Please show that good citizens who live by the law will defeat criminals,” Han said. “The vote you give to the PPP will become a spear to punish criminals and a shield that protects the Republic of Korea, and will become a driving force that will turn Korea into a more reformative and innovative country.”
“I ask every single one of you to trust your own judgment and come out to vote,” he said.
Han will join the entire 254 PPP candidates going to the pre-election polls Friday.
Han was set to continue the campaigning in key battlegrounds in Seoul and the wider Gyeonggi metropolitan region to woo voters.
Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, plans to visit Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province in the country’s southeast, in which the party has less standing.
Source: Yonhap News Agency