Which Areas Decided the Outcome in the Three Cheonan Constituencies in the General Election?

Out-of-District Voting Decides Victory in Cheonan Gap
‘Cheonaneul’ Remains a Democratic Stronghold Despite Budadong's Exit
‘Budangbulpae’ Continues in ‘Cheonanbyeong’ as Well

As the 22nd general election came to a close, the Democratic Party achieved a sweeping victory in the Chungnam region, securing 8 out of the 11 seats at stake. This triumph was largely driven by a clean sweep in Cheonan and Asan, which together account for half of Chungnam's seats. In particular, Cheonan faced a series of unpredictable variables, including the redistricting of electoral districts just 40 days before the election. Asia Economy reviewed the 22nd general election based on the vote shares of candidates in the Cheonan districts Gap, Eul, and Byeong.

Cheonan Gap Repeats 21st General Election Drama, Another Nail-Biting Victory Until Dawn

In the 21st general election, Moon Jin-seok, the candidate for Cheonan Gap, won by a narrow margin of 1,328 votes over Shin Beom-cheol. The vote count saw multiple lead changes throughout, with Moon taking the lead from around 3 a.m. during the final stages of counting.

The 22nd general election saw a similar scenario. Until 3 a.m., Moon Jin-seok maintained a precarious lead of about 500 votes, but then widened the gap to ultimately secure 64,562 votes, defeating Shin Beom-cheol of the People Power Party, who received 60,178 votes, and returning to the National Assembly once again.

Moon’s decisive advantage came from absentee voters and Cheongnyong-dong, which was newly incorporated into the 'Cheonan Gap' district due to redistricting.

According to the Central Election Commission, Moon Jin-seok received 8,623 absentee votes, surpassing Shin Beom-cheol’s 4,771 by 3,852 votes. In Cheongnyong-dong, Moon secured 14,104 votes, while Shin obtained 11,357 votes, a difference of 2,747 votes.

Considering the overall vote difference between the two candidates was only 4,353 votes, the voting patterns in these two areas determined the fate of Cheonan Gap.

In fact, Moon lost to Shin in all six eastern townships except Mokcheon-eup, and in the city’s 10 neighborhoods, he only won in Cheongnyong-dong, Munseong-dong, Ilbong-dong, and Sinan-dong.

Despite Losing Buldang-dong, Democratic Party’s Stronghold Clear in ‘Cheonan Eul’

‘Cheonan Eul,’ which had supported the Democratic Party since the 19th general election and was considered a Democratic stronghold, became unpredictable after Buldang 1 and 2-dong, the most populous areas, were reassigned to ‘Cheonan Byeong’ due to population limits.

Particularly, the public opinion in the four northern townships, where the Democratic Party had been weaker, was a major focus.

Park Wan-joo, who hailed from this region, had performed well, but with his decision not to run in this election, it was difficult to predict how public sentiment would shift. In the 19th general election, Democratic United Party candidate Park Wan-joo received 11,883 votes in the four northern townships, while Saenuri Party candidate Kim Ho-yeon got 14,079 votes. In the 20th general election, Park received 14,029 votes, surpassing Saenuri Party’s Choi Min-gi’s 11,580 votes. In the 21st general election, Park secured 17,607 votes, ahead of United Future Party’s Lee Jeong-man’s 14,781 votes.

In the 22nd general election, Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-gwan received 16,523 votes in this area, while People Power Party candidate Lee Jeong-man got 17,011 votes, maintaining a close race.

Ultimately, the votes from urban areas such as Baekseok-dong and Buseong 1 and 2-dong decided the outcome in ‘Cheonan Eul.’ Lee Jae-gwan garnered 35,850 votes in the urban districts, whereas Lee Jeong-man received only 23,274 votes.

‘Bul-dang Unbeatable’ Continues in ‘Cheonan Byeong’

With the development of the Bul-dang New Town in Cheonan’s northwestern district, the unprecedented subscription and contract rates for apartments there coined the new term ‘Bul-dang Unbeatable,’ which also influenced the election results.

The strong Democratic support in Buldang-dong, which had led the party’s dominance in ‘Cheonan Eul’ until the 21st general election, continued even after the area was moved to ‘Cheonan Byeong.’

In the final tally for Cheonan Byeong, Democratic Party candidate Lee Jeong-moon won with 53,189 votes, beating People Power Party candidate Lee Chang-soo, who received 40,098 votes, by a margin of 13,091 votes.

Lee Jeong-moon lost only in Pungse-myeon, Gwangdeok-myeon, and Ssangyong 1-dong, but secured many votes in most other areas.

Especially, the voting power in Buldang-dong was remarkable. Lee Jeong-moon received 16,678 votes in Buldang 1 and 2-dong, while Lee Chang-soo got only 10,966 votes. The 5,712-vote difference in Buldang-dong accounted for nearly half of the total vote margin in ‘Cheonan Byeong.’

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