The 9th nationwide local elections are held Tuesday. Voters will elect 4,227 local officials, including 16 metropolitan and provincial governors, 227 mayors and county heads, 3,968 metropolitan and provincial council members, and 16 superintendents of education. With parliamentary by-elections also taking place in 14 districts, the vote effectively amounts to a "mini general election." Voters will receive seven ballots, or eight in by-election districts, and must mark their choices for each. The Jeonnam-Gwangju region will elect its first integrated special metropolitan mayor.
As the number of battleground districts has grown, early voter turnout reached 23.5 percent, the highest ever recorded in local elections, with some predicting the final turnout will exceed the 50.6 percent registered in the previous local elections. Yet the conduct displayed by political circles during the campaign fell far short of public expectations. Coinciding with the first anniversary of President Lee Jae-myung's inauguration, the election grew overheated as the ruling party's "stable governance and judgment on insurrection" message clashed head-on with the opposition's "checks and balances" argument, leaving the race tainted by abusive language and unseemly behavior. Scrutiny of administrative and policy capabilities, which should have been the centerpiece of the campaign, vanished as candidates poured their energies into partisan rhetoric.
It is also disappointing that populist pledges, the perennial fixtures of every election season, ran rampant once again. According to an analysis by a civic group, 37 of 52 candidates running for metropolitan and provincial governorships put forward 92 development pledges, but only 14 included specific budget figures. The race for superintendent of education, which drew the largest number of candidates ever, was likewise flooded with cash handout pledges amid concerns over the "blind" nature of the vote, drawing criticism that it had become a "superintendent election devoid of education." In the closing stretch, former presidents took to the campaign trail, while conflicting political interpretations swirled around the sitting president's calls to vote, fueling controversy over election interference.
All the more reason voters must not give up on casting their ballots. As sovereign citizens, they must exercise their precious vote to correct backward politics. The 4,227 local officials chosen Tuesday will preside over 1,300 trillion won in local finances over the next four years, so votes must not be cast carelessly. Voters should review the election brochures at least once more and carefully weigh the qualifications and policies of candidates, as well as the future of their region and its education, rather than the slogans of parties or political camps. We urge voters to head to the polls with the conviction that today's single vote will determine not only the quality of local self-government but also the future of the nation.
