Choo Mi-ae of the Democratic Party of Korea and Min Hyung-bae, candidates for Gyeonggi Province governor and mayor of the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City (Gwangju City), respectively, were both elected, setting new milestones in the history of local autonomy. Choo became the first female provincial governor in Korea's constitutional history, while Min took office as the inaugural head of the country's first administratively integrated local government. With Democratic Party candidate Kim Sang-wook also performing strongly in the conservative stronghold of Ulsan, the results are expected to have significant implications for local autonomy and balanced national development policies.
According to the National Election Commission as of 1 a.m. on the 4th, Choo was elected with 55.28% of the vote, ahead of Yang Hyang-ja, who garnered 39.419%. At her election office in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Choo said, "This is a victory for the people of Gyeonggi Province who hoped for the normalization of the Republic of Korea and major changes in Gyeonggi Province," adding, "I feel a heavy sense of responsibility to ensure that this will not be a choice the residents will regret."
Choo was elected in the 15th general election in 1996 as the first female lawmaker from a Seoul constituency in the post-democratization era, and later became the first Democratic Party leader from the Daegu-North Gyeongsang (TK) region. With this election, she has now added the record of becoming the first female provincial governor in Korea's constitutional history.
During the campaign, Choo presented the supply of 550,000 public housing units and a "30-minute commute transformation in the metropolitan area" as her flagship pledges. The plan calls for supplying 370,000 units in public housing sites including third-phase new towns, along with 128,000 purchased rental units, 60,000 jeonse (a Korean lease system requiring a large lump-sum deposit instead of monthly rent) rental units, and more than 20,000 publicly supported private rental units. She also promised to introduce a "Metropolitan Integrated Pass (One Pass)" and to push forward the Great Train Express (GTX)-A, B, and C lines without delay.
Political circles expect Choo's political stature to rise further, given that the Gyeonggi governorship has been a stepping stone for prominent politicians including President Lee Jae-myung. In particular, observers say that if she can demonstrate strong performance in provincial administration, she could grow her presence as a future presidential contender. However, as her nickname "Choo d'Arc" suggests, her strong political coloring remains a challenge in terms of expanding centrist appeal and demonstrating unifying leadership.
At the same time, Min won a landslide victory in the country's first-ever Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City mayoral election with 79.69% of the vote. Lee Jung-hyun of the People Power Party received only 10.90%. Min is also expected to set the highest vote share record in this round of metropolitan-level elections. Set to lead a super-regional local government with a population of 3.2 million, Min said, "I will do my best to build a city that competes with the world, beyond Seoul."
The Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City is a super-regional local government launched through the administrative integration of South Jeolla Province and Gwangju. It has a population of 3.2 million and a gross regional domestic product (GRDP) of 150 trillion won. Combined, this year's budgets of the two regions amount to 29.9779 trillion won.
As a result, Gwangju City has emerged as a key axis of the Lee Jae-myung administration's "5 Poles, 3 Special Zones" strategy for balanced national development. In particular, it is expected to serve as a leading example showing the potential of the super-regional local government model to other regions where administrative integration has stalled, such as Daegu-North Gyeongsang and Daejeon-South Chungcheong.
Local political circles expect that the administrative integration will enable the region to build an advanced industrial ecosystem in fields such as artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductors, driving regional economic revitalization. Min has also presented a vision of creating "a city that attracts businesses" by leveraging 20 trillion won in incentives associated with the administrative integration.
Min also unveiled industry specialization strategies for four major zones: the Gwangju zone, the eastern zone, the western zone, and the central-southern zone. The Gwangju zone will be developed as a hub for AI, future mobility, and semiconductors; the eastern zone for secondary batteries, hydrogen, and the space industry; the western zone for renewable energy and data centers; and the central-southern zone for agro-life sciences and the K-food industry.
Meanwhile, in the South Gyeongsang Province governor's race, Democratic Party candidate Kim Kyoung-soo recorded 48.09% and People Power Party candidate Park Wan-su 51.90%, with Park leading — diverging from the exit polls by the three terrestrial broadcasters (Kim Kyoung-soo 54.3%, Park Wan-su 45.7%). In the Ulsan mayoral election, Democratic Party candidate Kim Sang-wook obtained 52.65% and People Power Party candidate Kim Doo-gyeom 42.10%, in a closely fought contest.
The South Gyeongsang governor's race was a face-off between current and former governors. Kim Kyoung-soo emphasized his ties with the Lee Jae-myung administration under the slogan of a "powerful governor," while Park highlighted his administrative achievements over the past four years and his stable management.
In the Ulsan mayoral election, candidate consolidation was the key variable. Kim Sang-wook gained the upper hand by successfully consolidating with the Progressive Party candidate, while Kim Doo-gyeom struggled after failing to achieve conservative consolidation with independent candidate Park Maeng-woo.
