Conservative party sweeps local elections in South Korea after presidential win

[Photo by Han Joo-hyung]

Conservative People Power Party (PPP) commanding the central government in South Korea through the presidential election win in March has come to dominate local governments as well by securing 12 out of 17 mayoral and gubernatorial titles in Sunday local elections.

PPP candidates won 12 local government chief posts in capital, central, and norther regions, while the Democratic Party (DP) managed to defend just five mostly in its voting base in Jeolla Province.

In Seoul, current Mayor Oh Se-hoon was re-elected after winning against DP’s former chief Song Young-gil. The PPP also took governor positions of both South and North Chungcheong and Gyeongsang Provinces, Gangwon Province, and mayor positions of Incheon, Sejong, Daejeon, Daegu, Ulsan, and Busan.

[Photo by Han Joo-hyung]

The DP won five – governors of Gyeonggi Province, both South and North Jeolla Provinces, and mayor of Gwangju.

The race for Gyeonggi Governor – long dominated by DP’s presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung - was contested by DP candidate Kim Dong-yeon, former finance minister, and PPP rival Kim Eun-hye. The PPP’s Kim was in the lead by a narrow margin based on the joint exit poll against DP’s Kim, but in the end, the first finance minister under former President Moon Jae-in won the race after achieving 49.05 percent of the votes versus 48.91 percent.

The local elections were held three months after the March 9 presidential elections and 20 days after the inauguration of President Yoon Suk-yeol.

PPP’s landslide victory can add weight to the new government as it faces DP-dominated legislative.

In the by-elections for 7 National Assembly seats, DP’s former presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung was elected for Incheon’s Gyeyang B District and PPP’s Ahn Cheol-soo was elected to represent Bundang A District in Seongnam.

The turnout was 50.9 percent, second lowest in history, the National Election Commission said.

[ⓒ Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]