People Power Party Achieves Landslide Victory in Basic Local Government Head Elections... Wins 145 out of 226 Districts

Four Years After Crushing Defeat, People Power Party 'Beams with Joy'

Representative Lee Jun-seok of the People Power Party, Floor Leader Kwon Seong-dong, and other lawmakers are cheering as they watch the exit poll announcement in the vote counting situation room set up in the National Assembly Library auditorium on the 1st. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The ruling party, the People Power Party, secured a complete victory in the election for 226 local government heads, cementing their win in the 8th local elections.

According to the National Election Commission on the 2nd, among the 226 constituencies for local government heads where vote counting has been completed, People Power Party candidates ranked first in 145 constituencies, accounting for 64.1%. This is nearly three times the number of winners compared to the 2018 local elections, where they secured only 53 constituencies (23.4%).

The Democratic Party, which had been neck-and-neck with the People Power Party in some regions, ultimately secured 63 constituencies (27.8%), a result less than half of the 151 winners they had four years ago.

Outside the two major parties, Kim Jonghun of the Progressive Party was the only candidate to finish first in the Ulsan Dong-gu mayoral election. Independent candidates won in 17 constituencies.

The People Power Party was expected to perform well not only in metropolitan mayoral elections but also in local government head elections, benefiting from the convention effect of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration’s inauguration. The party is celebrating the results as a redemption from their defeat four years ago.

In Seoul, the People Power Party won 17 out of 25 district mayor positions, while the Democratic Party secured 8. In the election four years ago, the Democratic Party had won 24 out of 25 districts except for Seocho-gu.

The Democratic Party showed strength in traditional opposition strongholds such as Gwanak-gu, as well as in northern districts including Nowon, Gangbuk, and Jungnang.

The People Power Party swept all 8 constituencies in their stronghold of Daegu and won 20 out of 23 constituencies in Gyeongbuk, except for three won by independent candidates in Ulleung, Yeongcheon, and Uiseong. The party also showed overwhelming dominance in Gyeonggi, Incheon, Daejeon, Chungnam, Chungbuk, and Gangwon.

The Democratic Party maintained an advantage in their strongholds of Gwangju, Jeonnam, and Jeonbuk. In Jeonnam, independent candidates won 7 out of 22 seats, marking notable progress. This is believed to be due to many candidates who failed the Democratic Party’s nomination screening, such as No Gwan-gyu, mayoral candidate of Suncheon, running as independents.

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