Jung Won-oh, the Democratic Party of Korea's candidate for Seoul mayor, conceded defeat on Tuesday, saying he would "gravely and humbly accept the choice of the citizens."
Speaking at his campaign headquarters in Jung-gu, central Seoul, Jung said, "I fell short, and everything is my fault." He added, "I failed to reach closer. I failed to win hearts more broadly," bowing his head as he said, "I am sorry to the citizens who trusted and stood with me, the campaign volunteers, campaign staff, and fellow party members for failing to live up to your expectations." He also said, "I extend my congratulations to candidate Oh on his victory."
In exit polls released by the three major terrestrial broadcasters immediately after voting closed the previous day, Jung was shown leading with 51.4 percent against Oh's 46.0 percent. The early stages of vote counting also appeared to favor Jung, but the gap narrowed rapidly after midnight.
According to the National Election Commission, as of 9:30 a.m. Tuesday with 97.70 percent of votes counted, Oh secured 48.94 percent, edging out Jung at 48.34 percent by a margin of 0.6 percentage points, or 30,359 votes, sealing his victory.
