Jeju Governor Race: Wi Seong-gon to Face Moon Seong-yu

In the June 3 local elections, former National Assembly member Wi Seong-gon of the Democratic Party and Moon Seong-yu, former CEO of Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO) from the People Power Party, will compete for the Jeju governorship. Jinbo Party's Jeju Chapter Chairman Kim Myung-ho and independent Yang Yun-nyeong, former head of the Pine Party's Jeju chapter, have also announced their candidacies. Current Governor Oh Young-hoon, who was seeking a second term, was eliminated in the Democratic Party's primary election.

Candidate Wi Seong-gon is a graduate of Jeju National University, where he served as student council president, and has been elected to three terms as a provincial council member and three terms as a National Assembly member. He resigned his seat in the 22nd National Assembly to run in the Jeju gubernatorial election. Candidate Moon Seong-yu is a former economic bureaucrat who held positions such as Director of Budget Planning and Director General of Planning and Coordination at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, before serving as CEO of KAMCO. He has pledged to establish the Jeju Investment Agency to foster 200 innovative companies and create an environment for young people to settle in Jeju.

The construction of Jeju's second airport has emerged as a major campaign issue. The second airport project, estimated to cost 5.4532 trillion won and span 5.506201 square meters in Seongsan-eup, Seogwipo City, has faced ongoing public conflict between proponents and opponents since the government's promotion plan was announced in 2015. Concerns such as bird strikes have also been raised. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has stated that it can decide on the second airport construction through a public referendum if officially requested by Jeju Province. Candidate Wi Seong-gon supports the necessity of the second airport and proposed a public decision-making process via referendum. Candidate Moon Seong-yu urged for a decision and proposed the formation of a verification committee. Candidates Kim Myung-ho and Yang Yun-nyeong advocate for the cancellation of the second airport construction and a public referendum.

A public opinion poll commissioned by JIBS, Jeju Daily, News1 Jeju, and Media Jeju to Realmeter, conducted from March 16-17, showed the following responses regarding the second airport construction: 'Proceed as per government plan' 27.9%, 'Complete suspension' 27.8%, 'Decision by public referendum' 21.7%, and 'Decision based on environmental impact assessment results' 18.3%. In a separate approval rating poll commissioned by Jeju Daily, The Jeju Voice, Jeju Today, Jeju MBC, and Jeju CBS to Korea Research International, conducted from April 4-5, candidate Wi Seong-gon led with 48% support, followed by candidate Moon Seong-yu at 13%. Answering the question of whether the ruling party should be empowered for national stability, 69% responded affirmatively. This survey was conducted on 800 Jeju residents aged 18 and over, with a margin of error of ±3.5 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.