Ruling Party Wins Landslide in Local Elections Despite Losing Seoul to Incumbent Mayor
The ruling party won 12 of 16 major local races and nine of 14 parliamentary by-elections, but the opposition kept Seoul and called for recounts.
- On Wednesday, President Lee Jae Myung's Democratic Party won 12 of 16 major local government races nationwide, though incumbent Mayor Oh Se-hoon narrowly retained Seoul for the opposition People Power Party.
- Held exactly one year after President Lee took office, these elections served as a referendum on his administration, marking a sharp reversal from previous conservative dominance.
- The Democratic Party secured nine of 14 parliamentary by-election seats, while the National Election Commission apologized after ballot paper shortages at 14 Seoul stations forced temporary voting suspensions.
- Oh declared his victory a triumph for "the great democratic principle of checks and balances," while Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae acknowledged nationwide success but noted the "sting" of losing the capital.
- Analysts suggest Seoul voters were influenced by dissatisfaction with government housing policies, providing the opposition a critical foothold to challenge President Lee's reform agenda, including proposed real estate taxation.
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South Korea’s government party wins on the premises despite Seoul’s opposition holding back
■Professor Hideki Okuzono, Shizuoka Prefectural University (Contemporary Korean Politics and Diplomacy): In the unified local elections held in South Korea on June 3rd, the progressive ruling Democratic Party of Korea won in 12 of the 16 metropolitan government head elections, but suffered a defeat in the capital city of Seoul…
12:4 Local Governments Born, Reversing the Tide of 4 Years Ago... Battleground Seoul Sees 'Reversal'
◀ Anchor ▶ In the local elections, the Democratic Party of Korea took a significant lead over the People Power Party, winning 12 out of 16 metropolitan and provincial governorships. As a result, the landscape of local autonomy has shifted to the exact opposite of four years ago. However, in Seoul, the biggest battleground, the Democratic Party secured two-thirds of the district mayoral positions.
According to the final results of the ninth round of local elections, the conservative People's Power Party (PPP) managed to retain only four of the country's top regional administrations, including Seoul City Hall, where conservative candidate Oh Se-hoon achieved re-election by a narrow margin of about 1%.
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