At 7:16 a.m. on Tuesday, cheers erupted simultaneously at the campaign headquarters of Oh Se-hoon, the People Power Party candidate for Seoul mayor, who had been watching the vote count. Although defeat had appeared likely as he trailed Jung Won-oh, the Democratic Party candidate for Seoul mayor, throughout the night, Oh finally succeeded in overtaking his rival as the Songpa-gu count was fully reflected. Reversing the disadvantage that had persisted throughout the count, Oh won with a final vote share of 49.15 percent, setting a new record as the first five-term Seoul mayor in constitutional history.
According to the National Election Commission, Mayor-elect Oh Se-hoon was elected after the all-night count, securing a final 2,560,590 votes to defeat Jung, who won 2,507,130 votes, by a margin of 53,460 votes.
Earlier, the count began with exit polls by the three broadcasters (KBS, MBC, and SBS) showing Oh trailing Jung by 5.4 percentage points. With Jung maintaining the lead from the early stages of the count, there were at one point observations that his election was likely.
However, the mood shifted dramatically around 7 a.m. With Jung leading by about 20,000 votes, the gap began to narrow rapidly as the count results from the Songpa-gu ballot boxes—where voting and counting had been delayed due to a ballot paper shortage—were fully reflected. Ultimately, Oh succeeded in reversing the vote share around 7:16 a.m., and Jung's camp canceled a press conference that had been scheduled for 7:30 a.m.
After his election became certain, Oh said, "This election is a victory for the citizens and for common sense," adding, "The citizens have once again firmly established the grand democratic principle of checks and balances."
Immediately after announcing his acceptance remarks, Oh went straight to Seoul City Hall to greet staff. He then returned to municipal duties at once, presiding over a special inspection meeting on summer measures at the city hall planning situation room as his first item of business.
In political circles, the assessment is that this victory has elevated Oh's political standing a notch. The analysis is that while the People Power Party received poor results nationwide—losing Busan and narrowly winning in Daegu after a close contest—Oh succeeded in defending Seoul, further strengthening his position within the party.
As calls within and outside the party grow for accountability from People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk and for a shift in the party's direction following the election, a sense of Oh's role is also emerging. An out-of-office figure aligned with Han Dong-hoon said, "Mayor Oh and former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon occupy different spaces in terms of their roles," while adding, "Since the Jang leadership system is likely to be maintained, there is also a possibility that a joint front opposing it could form."
Oh's fifth-term Seoul municipal administration is also expected to gain momentum in earnest. Housing supply policies including the flagship "Rapid Integrated Planning" (Sintong Planning), as well as urban competitiveness enhancement projects, are expected to regain their driving force.
"The citizens have chosen for the change that began with difficulty to continue without interruption going forward," Oh said. "I will return to municipal affairs immediately and resolve, one by one, the problems weighing down citizens' lives."
