Min Kyung-sun, the Democratic Party of Korea candidate for Goyang mayor, secured victory in the 9th nationwide local elections held Wednesday. He posted a commanding lead from the early stages of vote counting, performing strongly across all districts including Deogyang-gu, Ilsandong-gu, and Ilsanseo-gu.
According to the National Election Commission's tally, with 66.27% of the votes counted as of 2:45 a.m. Thursday, Min had won 59.98%, defeating People Power Party candidate Lee Dong-hwan, who received 36.89%, by a margin of more than 20 percentage points.
When news of his confirmed victory spread, campaign officials and supporters gathered at the election office erupted in cheers and chanted Min's name. Some supporters shed tears of joy.
Wearing a bouquet around his neck, Min credited the citizens for the win. "This victory belongs to the citizens who have hoped for a better Goyang," he said. "It is the result of the earnest wishes of countless people I met in alleyways, markets, apartment complexes, and in front of schools."
Min recalled that during the campaign, he heard firsthand the voices of office workers exhausted by commuting, young people who had to leave Goyang in search of jobs, and small business owners who had endured a stagnant local economy. "I will revive Goyang's growth, transform its transportation, and build a city where young people don't have to leave," he said. "I will lower the threshold of the mayor's office and bring administration closer to the citizens."
His emphasis on "unity and harmony" drew particularly strong applause. "Now is the time for unity and cooperation, not for taking sides," Min said. "I will be the mayor for all 1.07 million Goyang citizens, listening carefully not only to those who supported me but also to those who made a different choice."
"I will not be a mayor who only makes promises but one who delivers results, not a mayor who pursues showy administration but one who creates change that citizens can feel directly," he said. "I will walk alongside the citizens on this great journey of Goyang's new beginning."
Min is regarded as a transportation and policy expert, having served three terms as a Gyeonggi Provincial Council member and as president of the Gyeonggi Transportation Corporation.
