65% of Incheon City Council Seats Controlled by People Power Party... Female Elected Officials Double in Proportion

People Power 26 Seats, Democratic 14 Seats... Justice Party Fails to Enter

The plenary session of the Incheon City Council temporary meeting
Photo by Incheon City Council

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] As a result of the June 1 local elections, the leadership of the Incheon City Council has shifted to the People Power Party. Although the proportion of female elected officials more than doubled compared to the local elections four years ago, minor parties such as the Justice Party failed to enter the city council.

According to the Incheon City Election Commission on the 2nd, the People Power Party secured 26 seats (65%), including 2 proportional representation seats, out of the 40 seats in the Incheon City Council, while the Democratic Party of Korea managed to secure only 14 seats (35%), including 2 proportional representation seats.

The People Power Party swept the seats in 6 out of the 10 districts and counties in Incheon, including Jung-gu, Dong-gu, Michuhol-gu, Yeonsu-gu, Ganghwa-gun, and Ongjin-gun.

On the other hand, the Democratic Party showed strength only in Bupyeong-gu and Gyeyang-gu, where Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party’s senior advisor, ran for the National Assembly by-election, winning 4 seats in Gyeyang-gu.

Compared to the 7th local elections held in 2018, when the Democratic Party dominated with 34 out of 37 seats (91.9%), the seat count has reversed, and the People Power Party has regained the majority status.

Although the concentration is less severe than in the previous election, where the Democratic Party monopolized the council, concerns are being raised about whether the 9th City Council, controlled by the same party as the newly elected Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok of the People Power Party, will be able to properly check and monitor the executive branch.

This election drew attention due to the increased proportion of female city council members.

Female elected officials accounted for 17.5% of the entire Incheon City Council, with 5 from constituencies and 2 from proportional representation. This is more than double compared to the 8th City Council, where only 3 women (8.1%) were elected (1 proportional representative each from the Democratic Party, People Power Party, and Justice Party). Notably, this election saw the first time that 5 female constituency council members were elected.

However, the Justice Party, which had previously secured proportional representation seats four years ago, failed to enter the city council this time. In the June 1 local elections, the Justice Party received only 4.29% of the vote, resulting in no elected officials, while the People Power Party and Democratic Party, which received 51.10% and 43.81% of the votes respectively, each were allocated 2 proportional representation seats.

Meanwhile, the newly inaugurated 9th City Council consists of 87.5% first-term council members (35 out of 40).

Among the 16 incumbent council members who sought re-election, only 4 from the Democratic Party?Lee Osang (Namdong 3), Lim Jihoon (Bupyeong 5), Park Jonghyuk (Bupyeong 6), and Kim Jongdeuk (Gyeyang 2)?were re-elected, while the rest were defeated. Heo Sik, a People Power Party council member from Dong-gu who served five terms, also re-entered the city council this time.

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