BUSAN / GWANGJU: A record number of South Koreans cast their ballots in early voting on Thursday (May 29) and Friday for the upcoming presidential election, with overseas voting figures also reaching a historic high.

The snap poll was triggered by former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s short-lived declaration of martial law last December, which led to months of political turmoil and his impeachment.

Election day is set for next Tuesday.

All major polls have placed opposition Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung as the clear front-runner in the presidential race, with a recent Gallup survey showing that 49 per cent of respondents viewed the liberal as the best candidate.

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Trailing behind him is conservative former labour minister Kim Moon-soo from the ruling People Power Party (PPP) – Mr Yoon’s former party – at 35 per cent.

As South Korea chooses its next leader, experts said regionalism has eased in the country but remains a powerful force, especially in the south where political divides are deepest.

Regionalism refers to a political ideology that favours a region of a country to be more important than the whole.

“Although it’s declined compared to the past, especially in places like Busan and South Gyeongsang, it still lingers – particularly in regions like Daegu and North Gyeongsang where support for (PPP) remains strong,” said political science and diplomacy professor Lee Jae-mook from the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.

HOW IS REGIONALISM PLAYING A PART?

Most of South Korea’s presidents hail from Gyeongsang, where military dictator Park Chung-hee – who ruled the country with an iron fist for 18 years – was born.

The former leader, who seized power in a coup in 1961, is credited with launching South Korea’s economic miracle.

Seoul, as well as Gyeongsang where South Korea’s second-largest city Busan is located, grew rapidly under his leadership, with major industrial hubs being built in Gyeongsang.

But other areas, especially South Jeolla province, remained underdeveloped and largely agricultural. This widened the country’s regional divide which persists today.

Many South Koreans agree that such uneven economic development under its past leaders is one of the key reasons why Jeolla, known to be a liberal stronghold, has a long-standing rivalry with Gyeongsang, a conservative-leaning area.

Prof Lee noted that the sense of regionalism is especially deep in Daegu city in Gyeongsang, also known as Gyeongbuk – the hometown of former President Park Geun-hye, who is also the daughter of Mr Park Chung-hee.

"People in Daegu and Gyeongbuk remain loyal to the conservatives, especially after two of the (conservative) presidents – Park Geun-hye and Yoon Suk Yeol – were impeached,” he added.

“When your side’s presidents are impeached twice in a row, it strengthens your resolve to defend your political base. That’s why these divides are hard to overcome.”

The professor said this is also why front-running candidate Mr Lee began his presidential campaign in Gyeongsang. His conservative rival is seen as having an advantage there.

Mr Lee’s approval rate in North Gyeongsang stands at about 42 per cent, according to recent polls.

But separate surveys show that his support in South Gyeongsang has significantly increased, hovering at about 46 per cent in cities like Busan and Ulsan, slightly ahead of his PPP rival’s 42 per cent. 

While residents whom CNA spoke to were divided on who to vote for, some experts said support for conservatives was shaken after Mr Yoon’s failed martial law declaration.

MEMORIES OF MASSACRE IN LIBERAL JEOLLA

Over in Jeolla, experts noted how Mr Yoon’s ill-fated effort to impose military rule stirred up dark memories of a brutal fight for democracy decades ago.

The southernmost province in South Korea has been a strong supporter of the liberal bloc, especially after troops were sent in to quell protesters in what is now known as the May 18 massacre, or the Gwangju uprising in 1980.

Since then, conservative presidential candidates have consistently failed to win votes in Gwangju and the broader Jeolla region – and this is likely to be the case in next week's polls.

Prof Lee said: “It’s similar to the way Korean-Japanese relations are. Apologies need to be genuine. No matter how much Japan apologises (for the Japanese colonisation of the Korean peninsula), Koreans often feel it’s not sincere enough."

“In the same way, people from Honam (Jeolla region) don’t feel that conservative parties have made genuine apologies for past injustices.”

Hundreds of people were tortured and killed during the Gwangju uprising, which began a day after martial law was extended by military general Chun Doo-hwan.

He had taken power of the country after leading a coup on Dec 12, 1979, following the assassination of then-President Park Chung-hee.

The massacre accelerated South Korea's transition to democracy about seven years later.

Many in Gwangju told CNA this was why they could not believe their eyes when they watched Mr Yoon declare martial law on television on Dec 3 last year.

“I was overwhelmed, and I had nowhere to express my anger. It was just so absurd and infuriating … I remember seeing bodies covered with blankets on carts being moved through alleys and later in the city,” recounted a Gwangju resident.

Another resident, Madam Kim Gil-Ja, said she immediately thought of the uprising when Mr Yoon made the declaration.

Her son Moon Jae-hak was one of the youngest victims of the massacre. The 17-year-old was killed on the last day of the uprising during a pre-dawn assault on the South Jeolla provincial government building – the centre of protests against military rule.

Mdm Kim said that when she saw troops break the windows of the National Assembly building in Seoul last year and storm inside, she thought to herself: “This country is in chaos.”

“If I lived closer to Seoul, I would have gone to the National Assembly myself,” she told CNA.

At this year’s May 18 commemoration, most of the country’s presidential hopefuls, including Mr Lee, were present. But PPP’s candidate Kim did not turn up after organisers said he was not welcome.

Recent polls show Mr Lee with nearly 80 per cent support in Jeolla, including Gwangju, while Mr Kim trails far behind with just 4 per cent.

While 50 years have passed since the Gwangju massacre, the wounds remain deep.

Whether they will ever fully heal – and whether the people in Jeolla will one day place their trust in a conservative leader – remains uncertain as the country heads to the ballot box.