In the June 3 local elections, Oh Se-hoon of the People Power Party defeated Jung Won-o of the Democratic Party in a dramatic turnaround, securing his fifth term as Seoul mayor. After trailing in the early vote counts, Oh achieved a comeback just 13 hours after the polls closed, gradually widening his lead to confirm his victory.
According to the National Election Commission, Oh successfully retained the mayoral position by defeating Jung, who was referred to as the "choice of President Lee Jae-myung."
Jung initially appeared to have the upper hand. Exit polls released at 6 p.m. on election day indicated that Jung was leading by 5.4 percentage points, causing a festive atmosphere in his campaign office. In the early counting, Jung maintained a lead, although the gap narrowed at times, he consistently held the advantage.
The mood in Oh's campaign office was somber following the exit poll results, and concerns grew when reports of ballot shortages emerged from polling stations in areas where the People Power Party is strong, such as Songpa, Gangnam, and Gwangjin districts. The party requested a halt to the counting process, but their request was denied by the election commission.
The dramatic comeback began early on June 4. At around 7:16 a.m., with 93.9% of the votes counted, Oh surpassed Jung for the first time, securing 2,391,512 votes (48.67%) compared to Jung's 2,388,836 votes (48.61%). This turnaround occurred just 13 hours after the counting began.
Cheers and applause erupted in Oh's campaign office as supporters celebrated the unexpected lead. Campaign officials and supporters who had briefly left returned to join the festivities. Meanwhile, Jung's campaign office fell silent, with sighs and expressions of despair as the gap widened to around 10,000 votes just 20 minutes after losing the lead.
Once he took the lead, Oh maintained his momentum. Jung declared his defeat before the counting was completed, stating, "I will humbly accept the choice of the citizens. I was lacking," and extended his congratulations to Oh.
Oh's victory marks a historic achievement as he becomes the first mayor in South Korea to serve five terms. He was previously elected mayor in 2006 and 2010 but stepped down in 2011 due to the fallout from a failed referendum on free school meals. He later won the by-election in 2021 and the local elections in 2022, setting the record for four terms as Seoul mayor.
After his victory was confirmed, Oh expressed gratitude to the citizens, stating, "This election is a victory for common sense. The citizens have firmly established the fundamental principles of democracy, which are checks and balances." He added, "Now it is time to get back to work and address the issues that burden the lives of citizens one by one."
Following his remarks, Oh returned to Seoul City Hall to resume his duties as mayor, 38 days after his role was suspended upon registering as a candidate for the local elections on April 27.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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