Liberals (Democratic Party of Korea) win big in by-elections for municipal leaders

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Liberals win big in by-elections for municipal leaders

The People Power Party suffered another set of by-election defeats Wednesday, as the ruling party lost local government leadership positions to the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea. The conservative party's interim leader Rep. Kwon Young-se said in a party meeting Thursday that he would...

m.koreaherald.com

The People Power Party suffered another set of by-election defeats Wednesday, as the ruling party lost local government leadership positions to the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea.

The conservative party's interim leader Rep. Kwon Young-se said in a party meeting Thursday that he would "take the election result seriously."

Wednesday's elections were the first since President Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived imposition of martial law on Dec. 3.

The results suggest that liberal figures are to hold five out of six posts that were up for grabs for local government heads and an education superintendent. Before the by-election, conservative figures held five of the six.

The main opposition party flipped seats for the mayors of Asan, South Chungcheong Province, and Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, as well as the district chief for Guro-gu, Seoul.

The ruling party retained only the mayoral seat in Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang Province.

The main opposition party, however, lost the leadership of Damyang-gun in South Jeolla Province to the liberal minor opposition Rebuilding Korea Party.

Another liberal figure also flipped the seat for education superintendent in Busan, as Kim Seok-joon won the election to replace the conservative-leaning Ha Yun-su, who lost his seat for election law violations in December. Political parties cannot recommend candidates for the education superintendent.

A total of 23 seats — mayors, a county chief, an education superintendent, as well as members of local councils — were up for grabs Wednesday. The preliminary voter turnout rate stood at 26.27 percent, according to election authorities.