The Democratic Party planted blue flags across the Yeongnam region, shaking the political formula that "Yeongnam equals a conservative stronghold." In the local elections four years ago, the Democratic Party had won only one district—Namhae in South Gyeongsang—among the Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang (BUG) areas. In this June 3 local election, the party delivered clear results by winning in 12 districts. However, the conservative "home base" of Daegu and North Gyeongsang (TK) once again proved difficult, with the party failing to plant a single flag.
According to the National Election Commission on Wednesday, the Democratic Party produced a total of 12 heads of basic-level local governments in the BUG region in this election, with seven in Busan, four in South Gyeongsang and one in Ulsan. Considering that the party lost in all areas except Namhae County in South Gyeongsang in the 2022 local elections, this is a remarkable achievement. At the time, the Democratic Party failed to produce a single winner in Busan and Ulsan.
In Busan, the Democratic Party won in Yeongdo-gu, Nam-gu, Buk-gu, Saha-gu, Gangseo-gu, Sasang-gu and Gijang-gun. Busan Buk-gu drew attention as an area where the local election and a National Assembly by-election (Buk-gap) were held simultaneously. In the National Assembly race, Democratic Party candidate Ha Jung-woo lost to independent winner Han Dong-hoon, but in the district mayoral race, winner Park Jae-beom posted 50.43% of the vote, edging out People Power Party candidate Kim Kwang-myung (49.56%) by 0.87 percentage points.
The Democratic Party's advance was also striking in South Gyeongsang. In addition to defending Namhae County, the party won in Tongyeong, Geoje and Gimhae, increasing its number of winning districts from one to four over four years. In the Ulsan Buk-gu district mayoral race, Democratic Party winner Lee Dong-kwon (56.56%) scored a landslide victory over People Power Party candidate Park Cheon-dong (43.43%).
Observers say the Democratic Party has established a foothold for expansion in the Yeongnam region, traditionally hostile territory. The results of the metropolitan mayoral races also lend weight to this analysis. In competition with the People Power Party, which fielded incumbent mayors as its candidates, the Democratic Party captured the Busan and Ulsan mayoral posts, securing a bridgehead for its push into Yeongnam.
A concern, however, is that no clear results have emerged in TK. As it did four years ago, the Democratic Party again failed to produce a single winning candidate for basic-level local government head in the TK region. Still, although the Democratic Party lost the Daegu mayoral and South Gyeongsang gubernatorial races, it is encouraging that the party saw hope, as Daegu mayoral candidate Kim Boo-kyum (45.05%) and South Gyeongsang gubernatorial candidate Kim Kyoung-soo (48.71%) both recorded vote shares in the mid-40% range.
In political circles, analysts say the conservative camp has seen a steep loss of public sentiment following the Yoon Suk-yeol government's December 3 emergency martial law and the president's impeachment. A political source said, "This election was a result showing that a check against the conservative party can operate among Yeongnam voters," adding, "If the People Power Party fails to respond to the changed public sentiment, the existing regional structure could be shaken."
