[21st General Election] Ruling Party's 'Assassin Nomination' Succeeds, but Opposition Fails... 'Yeopungdangdang' in 29 Districts

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] In the April 15 general election, the United Future Party attempted 'assassin nominations' by sending veteran politicians to difficult districts, but mostly failed. On the other hand, the Democratic Party of Korea continued to succeed in various places by having 'newcomers' defeat veterans. While female candidates were elected in record numbers, the performance of young candidates was relatively modest.

According to the vote count results from the Central Election Commission on the 16th, among the candidates nominated as 'assassins' by the United Future Party in this general election, only Joo Ho-young, the candidate for Daegu Suseong-gap, was elected by winning 59.8% of the votes, defeating Kim Boo-kyum of the Democratic Party of Korea, who received 39.2%.

In Guro-eul, Kim Yong-tae, a three-term United Future Party candidate who faced Yoon Gun-young, former Blue House National Policy Planning Chief and known as 'President Moon Jae-in's confidant,' came in second with 37.6%. In Seoul Dongdaemun-eul, three-term United Future Party candidate Lee Hye-hoon (43.8%) was defeated by young politician Jang Kyung-tae of the Democratic Party of Korea (54.5%). In Incheon Michuhol-eul, the United Future Party fielded three-term incumbent Ahn Sang-soo from Incheon Jung-gu, Ganghwa, and Ongjin instead of the cut-off candidate Yoon Sang-hyun, but he only received 15.5%, suffering a crushing defeat. In Chungbuk Cheongju Sangdang, four-term lawmaker Jeong Woo-taek, who moved to Cheongju Heungdeok to face Democratic Party lawmaker Do Jong-hwan (55.8%), only garnered 42.9%.

Assassin nominations also failed in the conservative-leaning Busan and Gyeongnam (PK) regions, not just in the metropolitan area. Lee Eon-ju, who ran in Busan Nam-gu-eul, lost narrowly to incumbent Park Jae-ho of the Democratic Party, receiving 48.7% against Park's 50.5%.

On the other hand, the Democratic Party's assassin nominations were successfully concluded. In Seoul Dongjak-gu-eul, political newcomer Lee Soo-jin of the Democratic Party defeated four-term lawmaker Na Kyung-won by winning 52.1%. In Seoul Gwangjin-gu-eul, newcomer Go Min-jung of the Democratic Party won 50.3%, defeating presidential contender Oh Se-hoon, who received 47.8%.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The advancement of female politicians was also notable. Among the 209 female candidates who ran in this general election, 29 were elected, marking a record high. Veteran Sim Sang-jung of the Justice Party won with 39.3% after a close contest against Lee Kyung-hwan of the United Future Party. Also, in Gwangju Seo-gu-eul, Yang Hyang-ja of the Democratic Party won with 75.8%, overwhelmingly defeating six-term Minjung Party lawmaker Chun Jung-bae.

However, young politicians in their 30s were relatively underperforming except for those from the Democratic Party. In the Democratic Party, candidates such as Jang Kyung-tae in Seoul Dongdaemun-eul, Kim Nam-guk in Gyeonggi Ansan Danwon, Oh Young-hwan in Gyeonggi Uijeongbu-gap, Lee So-young in Gyeonggi Uiwang Gwacheon, and Jang Cheol-min in Daejeon Dong-gu all succeeded in entering the National Assembly. Among young candidates from the United Future Party, only Bae Hyun-jin, who defeated Democratic Party candidate Choi Jae-sung in Songpa-eul, was elected.

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