The Democratic Party of Korea effectively secured its return to local power for the first time in four years, leading in 12 of 16 metropolitan mayoral and gubernatorial races as of 1:50 a.m. Wednesday in the 9th nationwide local elections. The party also led in 10 of the 14 concurrent National Assembly by-elections. Han Dong-hoon, who ran as an independent in Busan's Buk-gap district, pulled off a dramatic come-from-behind victory to secure a seat in parliament.
According to the National Election Commission's vote count for the 16 metropolitan-level chief executive races, the Democratic Party has either confirmed or is leading in 12 regions. The list includes Jung Won-oh for Seoul mayor, Jeon Jae-soo for Busan mayor, Park Chan-dae for Incheon mayor, Min Hyung-bae for the integrated Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City mayor, Heo Tae-jeong for Daejeon mayor, Kim Sang-wook for Ulsan mayor, Cho Sang-ho for Sejong mayor, Choo Mi-ae for Gyeonggi governor, Shin Yong-han for North Chungcheong governor, Park Soo-hyun for South Chungcheong governor, Lee Won-taek for North Jeolla governor, and Wi Seong-gon for Jeju governor.
The People Power Party is virtually certain to win the North Gyeongsang governorship (Lee Cheol-woo), a traditional stronghold, and is likely to take the Daegu mayoralty (Choo Kyung-ho). The races for North Gangwon and South Gyeongsang governor remain too close to call.
In the Seoul mayoral race, the most closely watched contest, Democratic candidate Jung Won-oh held 54.88% with 47.9% of the votes counted, leading People Power Party candidate Oh Se-hoon (42.43%) by more than 10 percentage points.
The Democratic Party also dominated the by-elections, leading in 10 of the 14 contests based on the current count. For the People Power Party, Lee Jin-sook is likely to win in Daegu's Dalseong district. In Pyeongtaek-eul, where Kim Yong-nam of the Democratic Party, Yoo Eui-dong of the People Power Party, and Cho Kuk of the Rebuilding Korea Party competed in a three-way race, Yoo's victory was confirmed.
In Busan's Buk-gap, Han won the seat. Han overtook Democratic candidate Ha Jung-woo at the 75% count mark and steadily widened the gap, clinching the win with 42.99% of the vote. Around 1 a.m., Han visited his campaign headquarters with his wife, attorney Jin Eun-jung, to monitor the election results.
