'Dangipilma' Hong Joon-pyo, Kim Tae-ho, Yoon Sang-hyun, Kwon Seong-dong Survive... 4 of 5 Independent Winners Formerly from United Party

Former People's Party Member Lee Yong-ho Also Defeats Lee Kang-rae and Wins... The Only Non-Democratic Party Winner in Honam

Candidates Hong Jun-pyo, Kim Tae-ho, and Yoon Sang-hyun, elected as independents (from left).
Photo by Yonhap News

Kwon Seong-dong (left), candidate Lee Yong-ho.
Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Jin-young] There are five independent candidates who ran without party nominations and won in the 21st general election.

The main figures include Hong Joon-pyo, who ran in Suseong-gu B, Daegu, as well as Kim Tae-ho (Sancheong-gun, Hamyang-gun, Geochang-gun, Hapcheon-gun, Gyeongnam), Yoon Sang-hyun (Dong-gu, Michuhol-gu B, Incheon), Kwon Seong-dong (Gangneung, Gangwon), and Lee Yong-ho (Namwon-si, Imsil-gun, Sunchang-gun, Jeonbuk).

Except for Lee Yong-ho, who is from the People’s Party, the other four candidates were cut off from the United Future Party’s nominations before running.

Except for Kim Tae-ho, who won by 7,062 votes (6.1 percentage points), the other four won by narrow margins within 3,000 votes and within 3 percentage points in vote share.

Candidate Yoon Sang-hyun (46,493 votes, 40.5%) won by only 171 votes (0.1 percentage points) against Nam Young-hee of the Democratic Party (46,322 votes, 40.4%) after a neck-and-neck count, successfully securing his fourth term.

Yoon Sang-hyun set a rare record by winning twice consecutively as an independent candidate after leaving his party, following the 20th general election.

Hong Joon-pyo ran in Suseong B after moving his campaign office twice amid twists and turns before the election, defeating Lee In-seon of the United Future Party by 2,850 votes (2.8 percentage points).

Kwon Seong-dong, despite the conservative vote being split with former Minister of the Interior and Safety Hong Yoon-sik nominated by the United Future Party and Choi Myung-hee, a three-term Gangneung mayor who ran as an independent, won narrowly with 49,618 votes (40.8%) against Democratic candidate Kim Kyung-soo (47,008 votes).

The vote difference between the two candidates was 2,530 votes (2.1 percentage points).

Incumbent Lee Yong-ho of Namwon-si, Imsil-gun, and Sunchang-gun, a former Korea Expressway Corporation president, narrowly defeated Democratic candidate Lee Kang-rae, who was seeking a fourth term, by 2,670 votes (3 percentage points) and succeeded in his re-election.

While the Democratic Party secured 27 out of 28 seats in Gwangju, Jeonnam, and Jeonbuk, Lee Yong-ho became the only non-Democratic Party winner in the Honam region.

All four former United Future Party candidates expressed their intention to rejoin the party if elected, and Lee Yong-ho also promised to join the Democratic Party upon winning.

In particular, Hong Joon-pyo and Kim Tae-ho, who refused to run in the difficult metropolitan areas as requested by the United Future Party and instead ran in the Yeongnam region and survived, are considered potential presidential candidates, which is expected to become a variable in the future reorganization of the United Future Party leadership and the presidential race.

Hong Joon-pyo has publicly declared, "If I win this time, I will challenge the presidency."

Kim Tae-ho is also mentioned as a possible direct contender for the presidency.

Kwon Seong-dong, who reached his fourth term, expressed his intention to rejoin the United Future Party and challenge for the floor leader position in his victory speech.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.