Democratic Party Wins 12 Local Governments, Seoul Mayor Race Goes to People Power Party

In the June 3 local elections, the Democratic Party achieved a significant victory by retaining 12 out of 16 regional government positions. However, the party's loss of Seoul to the People Power Party left some disappointment. The People Power Party managed to secure victories in Daegu and other areas in the Yeongnam region, avoiding a complete defeat by holding onto Seoul.
According to political sources on June 4, the Seoul mayoral race, initially seen as the most competitive, began with Jung Won-o leading by more than 10 percentage points. However, as the counting progressed, conservative support consolidated in the Gangnam area. By 7:16 a.m., 13 hours after the counting began, Oh Se-hoon of the People Power Party overtook Jung by a narrow margin of 0.04%, eventually widening the gap to secure victory.
The results of the Seoul mayoral election brought mixed reactions from party leaders. Jung Cheong-rae, the Democratic Party leader, expressed gratitude for the voters' wise choice but lamented the loss of Seoul, stating, "It hurts not to have reclaimed Seoul."
Jang Dong-hyuk, leader of the People Power Party, described the outcome as "disappointing" but emphasized that they had preserved a spark of hope, calling it a mandate from the people to protect the country against the arrogance of Lee Jae-myung and the Democratic Party.
Analysts noted that while the Democratic Party's overall victory in the local elections was significant, losing Seoul was a setback. Political commentator Park Sang-byeong remarked, "Although we lost the Seoul mayoralty, the Democratic Party won significantly, and the People Power Party essentially suffered a defeat. Winning Seoul would have made it a perfect victory. The Democratic Party may view this as an unsatisfactory win."
Another commentator, Choi Yo-han, stated, "The score indicates a significant win for the Democratic Party, but it feels like an uneasy victory. For the People Power Party, it’s neither a win nor a loss."
In addition to the local elections, by-elections for 14 parliamentary seats were held concurrently, with the Democratic Party winning 9 seats, compared to 4 for the People Power Party and 1 for independents, indicating continued momentum for the Democratic Party.
Commentators were firm in their assessment that the People Power Party did not perform well in the by-elections. They expressed pessimism about the future political prospects of Cho Kuk, the candidate from the Justice Party who lost in Pyeongtaek, while opinions on a potential merger with the Democratic Party after the local elections were mixed.
Park noted, "It cannot be said that the People Power Party performed well. In Pyeongtaek, the fragmented opposition allowed Yoo Yi-dong to win by chance," adding that while Cho's political life is not over, his wings have been clipped. He predicted that the Justice Party would inevitably be absorbed by the Democratic Party.
Choi also remarked, "Many people do not see the by-elections as a victory for the People Power Party," and noted that Cho's standing has significantly diminished due to emotional conflicts with the Democratic Party during the election process, making a merger seem unlikely.



* This article has been translated by AI.

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