Opposition Party Swept Votes in Gangnam Due to Real Estate Taxes, While the Ruling Party Won in Only 5 out of 425 Dongs in Seoul

[경향신문]

In the by-elections on April 7, the People Power Party swept a victory in all districts north and south of the Han River, and won a whopping 80-90% of the votes in Gangnam. Experts believe voters responded sensitively to the issue of real estate taxes. Democratic Party of Korea candidate Park Young-sun only won in five of the 425 dongs in Seoul, showing that regardless of the district, Gangnam (south) or Gangbuk (north), citizens throughout the city had a strong desire to judge the ruling party.

According to the final outcome of the Seoul mayoral election released by the National Election Commission on April 8, Oh seized the majority of the votes in 375 out of the total 425 dongs in Seoul.

The surge of votes in Gangnam also intensified. Gangnam, Seocho, and Songpa were the top three autonomous districts where Oh received the most votes. Oh won 73.54% of the votes, more than three-fold the votes earned by Park (24.32%). Even within Gangnam-gu, the opposition party candidate received more votes in areas where redevelopment and reconstruction of apartment complexes and the tax burden due to rising official real estate prices were an issue. In Apgujeong-dong, Daechi 1-dong, Dogok 2-dong, and Banpo 2-dong, Oh received more than 80% of the votes. In the case of the Apgujeong-dong Polling Station 1, where the majority of the Apgujeong Hyundai Apartment residents vote, Oh earned 93.8% of the votes.

Meanwhile, Nonhyeon 1-dong and Yeoksam 1-dong, where residences for young people, such as small apartment buildings referred to as villas in Korea and multiplex houses, are located, the People Power Party secured less than 70% of the votes, despite that these areas are also in Gangnam-gu. This is why experts believe the regulations on expensive apartments caused the public to turn away from the ruling party and pour their votes onto the opposition. During the election campaign, the People Power Party attacked the ruling party’s real estate regulations and stressed quick redevelopment and reconstruction.

Voters living in areas where expensive apartments are located preferred the conservative party in the last parliamentary elections when the ruling party won a landslide victory, so experts point out that this wasn’t unique to the latest by-election. They argued that the latest victory by the opposition party was possible because the moderates and conservatives came together due to the frustration with the government’s real estate policies and the desire for judgment on the government. Park Young-sun enjoyed a slight lead over Oh in only five of the 425 dongs in Seoul--Seongsan 1-dong, Mapo-gu; Hwagok 8-dong, Gangseo-gu; Guro 3-dong, Guro-gu; Hang-dong, Guro-gu; Changsin 2-dong, Jongno-gu.

Cho Jin-man, a professor at Duksung Women’s University said, “The three districts in Gangnam are a conservative stronghold and interests, such as taxes, were strongly reflected here.” He explained, “After last year’s parliamentary election, there was the incident of former justice minister Cho Kuk and the LH scandal, which led many moderates and independent voters to think of judgment on the government and head out to the polling booth.”

Some experts argued that the ruling party’s attitude in accusing the Gangnam area of “real estate irregularities” also encouraged voters in Gangnam to turn away from the ruling party. Hong Hyung-sik, director of Hangil Research said, “If speculation was a problem, all they had to do was solve the problem by catching the people engaging in speculation. But they chose a mechanism that blamed the people in Gangnam, enraging the people, regardless of whether they were progressive or conservative.” He argued, “We can’t say that they displayed the true nature of conservatives, but the opposition against accusations of bad practices was fierce.”