Volunteers stand in formation to create a message that reads: "Beautiful election, fairness and unity," during a launch ceremony for a volunteer group for the upcoming presidential election near Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday. / Yonhap



By Kim Hyo-jin



Presidential contenders from the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) are increasingly turning to negative campaigning toward opponents as the primary race is heating up.



In televised debates as well as off-screen, they are trading attacks in rough language. Especially with the public support for frontrunner Moon Jae-in showing no signs of dwindling, he is often becoming the target of mudslinging.



South Chungcheong Province Governor An Hee-jung, who trails Moon in second place, raised an offensive against the frontrunner after the latter boasted of receiving a commendation from former President Chun Doo-hwan in a KBS debate aired Sunday.



Moon showed a picture of himself in his military uniform when he was a member of the Special Forces, saying it was one of the most proud moments in his life. "Then the head of the first airborne brigade Gen. Chun Doo-hwan awarded me the citation for my service."



It brought an immediate backlash from the other contenders as Chun is the controversial figure who ordered the bloody suppression of the May 18 Uprising in Gwangju, a democratization movement held against his military coup in 1980.



Choi Sung, another DPK contender, ridiculed the fact, asking why he did not throw the commendation medal away immediately. An's camp, in particular, dragged out the issue even after the show, asking Moon to apologize to the people of Jeolla Province for hurting their feelings.



"We wonder if Moon is being overly defensive against critics accusing him of being weak at security issues," Park Soo-hyun, one of An's spokesmen, said in a statement. "It is not something to be proud of or to show off about. He should first apologize to the people from Gwangju and Jeolla Provinces for his reckless remark."



Moon hit back at An's camp, accusing it of being involved in negative electioneering. "It is too much that they take the remark as a target for vicious attacks," Moon told reporters. "It feels like an insult to me, a person who lived for democratization as a human rights lawyer all of my life."



Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon, a Moon aide, put weight on Moon's voice, saying, "It is surprising to see An's camp waging a negative campaign and encouraging division inside the party."



All signs point toward a negative campaign as such verbal attacks are not just limited between the front and second-place contenders.



In other televised debates last week, Choi, the Goyang mayor who is in last place of the four candidates in the polls, repeatedly brought up an old scandal of An receiving political funds from Samsung.



He accused An of being an unqualified candidate for his corruption scandal where he was sentenced to a jail term in 2003, especially when the upcoming presidential election was arranged after the former President was impeached for involvement in this latest corruption scandal.



Choi questioned An's integrity, criticizing the fact that he used part of the fund to buy a private house.



"It is embarrassing to take flak from a contender of the same party on such an old issue," An responded with a disgruntled voice. "I was already punished for that with a jail term and a fine."



Meanwhile, Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung challenged Moon for his recruitment of controversial figures for the campaign. He sought to portray Moon, who drew establishment figures to his camp, as unfit to be the next president.



A party official noted a negative campaign reflects the candidates' uneasiness before the start of the primary ballot. The DPK holds the first election in Jeolla Province from March 25 to 27.



"It is a make-or-break election for competitors considering its significance and expected ripple effect of being elected on liberal home turf," the official said. "It is understandable that they are trying to turn the tables at the last minute whatever it takes."