4·5 By-election Changnyeong County Residents' Choice: Seong Nakin and Lee Gyeongjae

Seong Nak-in, Mayor-elect of Changnyeong County (left), and Lee Kyung-jae, Member-elect of the Gyeongnam Provincial Council for Changnyeong County District 1.
[Photo by Central Election Commission]

In the by-election for the mayor of Changnyeong County, Gyeongnam, held on the 5th, candidate Seong Nak-in, who ran as an independent after leaving the People Power Party, was elected.

According to the Gyeongnam Election Commission on the 6th, Seong won with 7,229 votes, defeating six candidates including the Democratic Party candidate and two former county heads.

Seong, a native of Changnyeong County, is a local who worked at the Changnyeong County Office for 34 years. Starting as a level 9 public official in 1984, he held various positions such as Public Relations Manager, Upo Wetland Management Office Director, Daehap Township Chief, and County Office Director. He retired in December 2017 after serving as the Changnyeong-eup Chief.

He met voters wearing a red jumper symbolizing the People Power Party throughout his campaign and as a preliminary candidate, under the slogan "Prepared Mayor." Seong presented five major pledges: fostering the Changnyeong-type health healing industry belt, promoting a traditional market revival project, improving and expanding convenience facilities for socially vulnerable groups, establishing a children's hospital, and opening eco-friendly park golf courses by region.

Seong stated, “Leveraging my 34 years as an administrative public official including Changnyeong-eup Chief and my experience as a two-term Gyeongnam Provincial Council member, I will make Changnyeong County a place where people of all ages want to live.”

The seat for the Gyeongnam Provincial Council Changnyeong County District 1 was won by People Power Party candidate Lee Gyeong-jae.

Lee received 7,696 votes, accounting for 50.33% of the total. The Changnyeong County mayoral by-election concluded with a voter turnout of 57.5%, as 30,135 out of 52,427 registered voters cast their ballots.

In the election for the Gyeongnam Provincial Council Changnyeong County District 1 seat, 15,651 out of 26,382 registered voters participated, resulting in a 59.3% turnout.

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