Democratic Party Faces 'Devastating' Exit Poll Defeat, Silent Shock and Bewilderment... Lee Jae-myung Leaves Situation Room Without Comment

10 Wins for Kukhim, 4 for Minju, 3 Contests... Broadcast 3 Companies Exit Poll

Lee Jae-myung, the General Election Committee Chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Yoon Ho-jung and Park Ji-hyun, Co-Chairpersons of the Joint Standing Election Committee, are watching the exit poll results of the June 1 local elections at the comprehensive situation room set up in the National Assembly on the 1st. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

Lee Jae-myung, the General Election Committee Chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea, is talking with Park Ji-hyun, the Co-Chair of the Joint Election Committee, at the comprehensive situation room set up in the National Assembly on the 1st. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporters Park Jun-yi and Koo Chae-eun] At 7:30 PM on the 1st, when the exit poll results of the June 1 local elections were announced, showing a de facto landslide victory for the People Power Party (PPP) (Democratic Party likely to win 4 seats, PPP likely to win 10 seats, 3 seats too close to call), the Democratic Party could not hide its somber atmosphere. Short sighs were heard, and some party leaders showed bewildered expressions. Some lawmakers silently bowed their heads. Amid an overall heavy silence, the party leadership refrained from making any statements and remained with serious expressions.

At around 7:21 PM, Lee Jae-myung, the General Election Committee Chairman, entered the vote counting room with a heavy expression. Soon after, Yoon Ho-jung, Co-Chairman of the Election Committee, and Park Hong-geun, Floor Leader, took their seats. For about nine minutes until the exit poll results were announced, the atmosphere was so tense that not even a breath could be heard. Chairman Lee, sitting with his hands clasped, silently watched the broadcast. When the exit poll results were announced at 7:30 PM, he remained motionless with a stern expression, quietly watching the screen.

Lee Jae-myung, the General Election Committee Chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea, is talking with Yoon Ho-jung, the Co-Chairman of the Joint Standing Election Committee, at the comprehensive situation room set up in the National Assembly on the 1st. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

Lee Jae-myung, the General Election Committee Chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea, is talking with Park Hong-geun, the floor leader, at the comprehensive situation room set up in the National Assembly on the 1st. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

In the Seoul mayoral race, the People Power Party candidate Oh Se-hoon led with 58.7%, ahead of Democratic Party candidate Song Young-gil, who had 40.2%. In the highly contested Gyeonggi Province governor race, PPP candidate Kim Eun-hye had 49.4%, narrowly ahead of Democratic Party candidate Kim Dong-yeon with 48.8%. Especially, when it was announced that PPP candidates Kim Jin-tae for Gangwon Province and Kim Tae-heum for Chungnam Province were likely to win, sighs of "Ah..." echoed throughout the situation room.

At around 7:42 PM, Chairman Lee stood up and left the situation room. When reporters asked for comments, he exited without responding. At 7:45 PM, Yoon Ho-jung stood up and told the press, "We will watch the final vote counting results until the end." Floor Leader Park Hong-geun said, "Once the final results are out, the party leadership will discuss and issue a statement."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Lee Jae-myung, the General Election Committee Chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea, is leaving the situation room after watching the exit poll results at the comprehensive situation room set up in the National Assembly on the 1st. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

At 7:54 PM, Park Ji-hyun, Co-Chairwoman of the Election Committee, said in an interview with broadcasters, "The results were worse than expected. I think the Democratic Party has been judged for the second time following the presidential election. We have to watch the vote counting results with a heavy heart." Park added, "The Democratic Party should have shown more signs of reform after the presidential election. Instead of focusing on checking the Yoon Suk-yeol government, which has been in office for less than a month, we should have shown more genuine efforts for reform."

Park Ji-hyun, Co-Chair of the Democratic Party's Central Election Countermeasures Committee, is attending the Central Election Countermeasures Meeting held at the National Assembly on the 31st and delivering a speech. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Meanwhile, according to the joint exit polls by the three major broadcasters KBS, MBC, and SBS, in the June 1 local elections for 17 metropolitan and provincial governors, the People Power Party was leading in 10 areas, and the Democratic Party in 4 areas. Three areas were too close to call. According to this survey, the PPP led in Seoul (Oh Se-hoon), Incheon (Yoo Jeong-bok), Busan (Park Hyung-joon), Ulsan (Kim Doo-gyeom), Gyeongnam (Park Wan-soo), Daegu (Hong Joon-pyo), Gyeongbuk (Lee Cheol-woo), Chungnam (Kim Tae-heum), Chungbuk (Kim Young-hwan), and Gangwon (Kim Jin-tae). The Democratic Party was likely to win in Gwangju (Kang Ki-jung), Jeonnam (Kim Young-rok), Jeonbuk (Kim Kwan-young), and Jeju (Oh Young-hoon).

The closely contested areas were Gyeonggi, Daejeon, and Sejong. However, PPP candidate Kim Eun-hye led Democratic Party candidate Kim Dong-yeon by 49.4% to 48.8% within the margin of error in Gyeonggi. In Daejeon and Sejong, PPP candidates Lee Jang-woo and Choi Min-ho led Democratic Party candidates Heo Tae-jung and Lee Chun-hee by 50.4% to 49.6% and 50.6% to 49.4%, respectively, also within the margin of error.

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