Gangseo-gu Mayor Early Voting Breaks Records, Ruling and Opposition Parties Each Say "Judgment on Yoon Seok-yeol and Lee Jae-myung"

As of 6 PM on the 7th, 22.64%
People Power Party: "A public warning against defending crime suspects"
Democratic Party: "Stop Yoon government's incompetence and tyranny"

As the early voting rate for the by-election of the Mayor of Gangseo District in Seoul reached the highest ever among local elections, both ruling and opposition parties interpreted the situation on the 8th as favorable to themselves.

The ruling party, the People Power Party, evaluated the high turnout as "a wave of judgment against the Democratic Party, which is hampered by 'judicial risks.'"

Yoon Hee-seok, spokesperson for the People Power Party, said in a statement that day, "It is a warning from the public against the Democratic Party, which fails to present a direction to solve the wishes of Gangseo residents and only shouts that 'Jin Gyo-hoon's victory is Lee Jae-myung's victory,' defending only the criminal suspects," adding, "The Democratic Party's political attempt to blatantly side with criminals and use the will of Gangseo residents as a shield for the party leader will face stern judgment from the residents of Gangseo."

One week before the by-election for the Mayor of Gangseo District, banners of candidates from both ruling and opposition parties are hung near the Hwagog Station intersection in Gangseo-gu, Seoul on the 4th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Regarding Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, suddenly canceling his campaign schedule for the Gangseo District Mayor by-election the previous day, Yoon criticized, "He probably could not bring himself to appeal to the Gangseo residents to defend his own judicial risks," and said, "He ordered the avatar candidate he put forward and the Democratic Party leadership to manipulate behind the scenes and shout for his own protection."

Yoon Jae-ok, floor leader of the People Power Party, plans to visit Banghwa Neighborhood Park and Bangsin Traditional Market in Gangseo District in the afternoon to appeal for support.

On the other hand, the Democratic Party interpreted the high early voting rate as a result of Gangseo residents rallying to "stop the incompetence and tyranny of the Yoon Suk-yeol government."

Park Sung-jun, spokesperson for the Democratic Party, said in a written briefing that day, "(Kim Tae-woo, the People Power Party candidate) is a shameless candidate who asks for leniency even in an election held because of himself," and criticized, "Seeing the election situation unfavorable, he says he will not receive a salary and shamelessly plays the poor cosplay."

He added, "We cannot give votes to such a shameless and brazen candidate and party," emphasizing, "We must judge the Yoon Suk-yeol administration and candidate Kim Tae-woo, who disregard and mock the people."

Residents are moving to cast their votes at the early voting station set up at Banghwa 1-dong Community Center in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, on the 6th, the early voting day for the Gangseo District Mayor by-election. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Hong Ik-pyo, floor leader of the Democratic Party, plans to appear on a radio broadcast in the afternoon to appeal for support.

Meanwhile, the early voting that closed the previous day recorded the highest rate ever among local elections and by-elections. The final early voting rate, compiled by the National Election Commission as of 6 p.m. on the 7th, was 22.64%. Out of a total of 500,603 registered voters, 113,313 participated.

Since Gangseo District has been a stronghold of the opposition party, it is evaluated that the higher the turnout, the more advantageous it is for the Democratic Party. However, there is also an observation that it is difficult to guarantee victory if the enthusiasm of early voters, whose age and other factors may be limited, does not continue until the main election.

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