Anchor: As the main opposition Democratic Party and the ruling People Power Party are looking to win over the central swing-vote areas, namely the cities of Sejong and Daejeon, as well as north and south Chungcheong Provinces. In this installment of our report series on the current political landscapes of the nation's major cities and provinces, our Yun Sohyang takes a closer look at the Chungcheong area. 

Report: Four years ago in the 21st general elections, the Democratic Party(DP) celebrated a landslide victory in Daejeon and Sejong, sweeping all nine districts. 

The DP, which clinched wins in seven districts in Daejeon and two in Sejong at the time, intends to maintain the seats in the April 10 elections, while the ruling People Power Party(PPP) said this time, things will be different. 

Sejong City, the de facto administrative capital of the country, is a city with a large younger demographic. 

In the Sejong B district in the northern part of the city, the DP secured a victory in the 2020 general elections by a whopping 20 percentage point gap, and the PPP won in the following local elections in 2022.

Similarly, past election results in Daejeon City have also indicated it does not have a strict political leaning as a region. The DP won all seven districts in the 2020 general elections, and the PPP swept all the districts in the 2022 presidential election, suggesting this district is more affected by public sentiment at the time of elections.

South Chungcheong Province has been a swing vote region as it has voted across party lines without any allegiance to particular camps in past elections. In the 2020 general elections, amid a strong showing by progressives, the DP and the United Future Party, a predecessor of the PPP, had a fierce battle in the province as the two won six and five seats, respectively.   

In North Chungcheong Province, the DP was ahead of the PPP by capturing five out of eight districts in the 2020 general elections.

Professor Lim Eun-jeong at Kongju National University in South Chungcheong Provinces says that both parties deem winning in the Chungcheong area to be crucial as the area could sway the race to the National Assembly. 

[Sound bite: Prof. Lim Eun-jeong - Kongju National University]
"So for the national assembly, they chose the Democratic Party, and two years later, they chose the current ruling party for their local government. So, they showed all these different choices from time to time. It’s hard to say who has the advantage in the region right now, but it's also true that if you can’t win this region, it might be difficult to expect a wide victory." 

The leaders of each party toured key battlefields as part of their campaigns, trying to win the hearts of the voters in the Chungcheong area.

[Sound bite: Prof. Lim Eun-jeong - Kongju National University]
"That is why probably both leaders, Mr. Han Dong-hoon who is now the chairman of the PPP's  emergency response committee, he also visited Cheonan, Cheongju, and Lee Jae-myung too, he came to Cheonan and the Hongseong area. The leaders’ behavior can be seen as important because again, depending on who wins in Chungcheong, it can create repercussions in other swing states as well."  

While it is still unclear who has the advantage in the area, it will be important to see whether Chungcheong will indeed determine the race for the National Assembly.
Yun Sohyang, KBS World Radio news.