Ex-PPP head leading former Hyundai president in youthful Hwaseong-B District

Lee Jun-seok, the Reform Party leader, held a lead over his liberal rival Democratic Party (DP) candidate Gong Young-woon in a close race for the Hwaseong-B District in Gyeonggi, as of 10 p.m. Wednesday.

From left: Democratic Party candidate Gong Young-woon, Reform Party leader Lee Jun-seok, and People Power Party candidate Han Jung-min speak during their election campaign for the Hwaseong-B District in Gyeonggi. [NEWS1, YONHAP]

Lee Jun-seok, the Reform Party leader, held a lead over his liberal rival Democratic Party (DP) candidate Gong Young-woon in a close race for the Hwaseong-B District in Gyeonggi, as of 10 p.m. Wednesday.

Lee has won 47.93 percent of votes counted so far, while Gong has secured 33.67 percent.

People Power Party (PPP) candidate Han Jung-min is trailing behind in third place with 18.39 percent.

The current vote count stood at 8.19 percent. The voter turnout in the Hwaseong-B District came in at 70.7 percent.

Hwaseong is one of the youngest constituencies in the country, with an average voter age of 34.6. It also hosts production facilities of major Korean companies, including Hyundai Motor and Samsung Electronics. These characteristics are reflected in the city's candidate list, which includes the youngest-ever leader of a major political party in Korea, a former Hyundai Motor president and a former Samsung Electronics researcher.

Lee, the former and youngest-ever leader of the PPP, parted ways with the conservative party in December last year after a yearslong feud with President Yoon Suk Yeol, and founded the Reform Party. Young male voters in their 20s to 40s form his key political base.

Lee previously contested and lost elections for a parliamentary seat in 2016, 2018 and 2020.

The DP’s Gong worked for Hyundai Motor from 2005 to 2022, becoming president of the carmaker in 2018. He joined the DP in January and was named one of 11 co-leaders for the party’s election committee.

During his election campaign, Gong faced allegations of gifting his child real estate property for improper financial gain. Gong has denied any illegal conduct.

The PPP’s Han, a former Samsung Electronics researcher in the semiconductor sector, joined the conservative party in January.

According to a joint exit poll results released by the three terrestrial broadcasters KBS, MBC and SBS, Gong was expected to win the race with 43.7 percent against Lee’s 40.5 percent, while Han was forecast to secure 15.8 percent.

The poll surveyed 359,750 voters at 1,980 polling stations nationwide as voting was underway, and had a 95-percent confidence interval with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 to 7.4 percentage points.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]