S. Korean candidates seek swing voters

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BUSAN, South Korea, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- Candidates in South Korea's Dec. 19 presidential election directed their campaigns to the growing number of the country's swing voters.

In the southeastern post city of Busan, Park Geun-hye, 60, of the conservative ruling Saenuri Party pledged to boost the area's slumping shipbuilding industry and said she would restore the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, abolished under incumbent President Lee-Myung-bak, the Yonhap News Agency reported Friday.

Democratic Unity Party candidate Moon Jae-in, 59, met voters in Gwanju, a liberal stronghold with loyalties divided between him and independent candidate Ahn Cheoi-soo. Moon stressed his pledge to reduce federal government power and return it to local governments, the news agency said.

Ahn, 50, had a series of meetings with labor leaders in Seoul, and stressed his commitment to a strong national defense on the Korean Peninsula, the news agency said.