S. Korea ruling party wins local election
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The ruling South Korean party, the People Power Party, wins key mayoral and gubernatorial posts after taking the presidency a little less than three months ago.
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South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol during his election campaign rally in Seoul, South Korea, March 8, 2022 (Reuters)
The ruling party in South Korea emerged victorious from local elections for leaders of major cities and provinces, official results showed Thursday, giving newly elected President Yoon Suk-yeol a major boost.
Yoon, an avid anti-feminist and political novice, had won the presidential election back in March with the slightest margin in the history of South Korea, leading his opponent by a mere 0.7%.
Then-ruling Democratic Party of Korea's presidential candidate, Lee Jae-Myung, admitted defeat in the presidential election and congratulated his conservative rival.
With the National Assembly not on his side, Yoon's People Power Party (PPP) won 12 out of the 17 posts up for grabs in the Wednesday elections for mayors and provincial governors, including the capital, Seoul, and the country's second-largest city, Busan.
PPP Seoul mayor Oh Se-hoon was re-elected with 59% of the vote, while the party's mayor in Busan, Park Heong-joon, was re-elected with 66.4%.
President Yoon thanked South Koreans for the "successful completion" of the elections on Thursday, highlighting that he accepted the election's results as the "will of the people to revive the economy and take better care of the people's livelihood."
The South Korean public had turned against the opposition Democratic Party's former president Moon Jae-in and his administration, blaming them for the surging housing prices in Seoul, which witnessed a nearly 120% hike during Moon's tenure.
The National Assembly is still controlled by the opposition despite the PPP taking five of the seven available seats in the parliamentary by-elections, and the Democratic Party still holds the majority.
However, though the opposition still holds the parliamentary majority, experts say the win in the local elections could boost Yoon the public approval he has been craving to push his agenda.
During the last round of elections, the Democrats took 14 of the mayoral and gubernatorial posts in the 2018 election, but this round saw them only winning five key posts.
The DP had Seoul and Busan in its pocket, but the tenures ended tragically, with both mayors losing their posts due to allegations of sexual abuse.
Former Seoul mayor Park Won-soon committed suicide in 2020 over allegations of sexual abuse, while DP former Busam mayor Oh Keo-don was forced to resign for sexually assaulting a female staffer.
Park was an avid advocate for women's rights throughout his political career, and the allegations heavily affected the DP's reputation in the capital city due to proven hypocrisy from its pick for mayor in Seoul.
