Jung Deok-young, the Democratic Party candidate for Yangju mayor, secured victory in the 9th nationwide local elections on Tuesday.
According to the National Election Commission's vote count, with 95.86% of ballots counted as of 1:50 a.m., Jung garnered 55.82% of the vote, defeating People Power Party candidate Kang Soo-hyun, who received 44.17%, by a margin of 15,319 votes.
In his acceptance speech, Jung expressed gratitude, saying, "Today's glory is not my personal glory but a victory for all Yangju citizens who came together to build a better tomorrow." He added, "I will work with greater humility and a heavy sense of responsibility so that your choice will not be in vain."
Jung reflected on the public sentiment he encountered during the campaign. "I have taken to heart the heavy sighs of those facing various problems, the parents worried about their children's future, and the voices hoping that politics will no longer be conflict but hope," he said.
Jung emphasized unity in the post-election period. "The election is now over," he said. "Those who supported me and those who made different choices are all Yangju citizens and precious neighbors with whom we must move forward hand in hand."
"I will now work not as anyone's candidate but as the representative of us all," he said. "I will devote all my capabilities to citizen unity and regional development, going beyond the conflicts and confrontations of the election process."
Jung pledged to make citizen harmony, livelihood stability, and regional development top priorities in running the 9th popularly elected Yangju city government.
"Today's victory is not an end but a beginning," he said. "Responsibility comes before joy, and action comes before celebration."
Jung repeatedly stressed, "I will repay you not with division but with unity, not with political strife but with livelihood, not with empty political rhetoric but with responsible politics. For a Yangju where citizens are the owners and for Yangju as the central city of northern Gyeonggi, I, Jung Deok-young, a powerful ruling-party mayor, will surely deliver."
