DP on track to win resounding victory in local elections, including Seoul mayor's race
Published: 03 Jun. 2026, 22:16
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- PAIK JI-HWAN
- [email protected]
![Members of the ruling Democratic Party await the results of the exit poll for the local elections on June 3 at the party’s situation room in the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/06/03/b11f8d64-eedf-4ae5-890c-6c141dc3c6be.jpg)
Members of the ruling Democratic Party await the results of the exit poll for the local elections on June 3 at the party’s situation room in the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul. [YONHAP]
The ruling Democratic Party (DP) was on track to secure sweeping victories in Wednesday’s local elections, reflecting strong nationwide voter support and bolstering President Lee Jae Myung's policies going forward.
A joint exit poll by KBS, MBC and SBS projected that liberal DP candidates would win 11 of 16 metropolitan and provincial governor posts contested in the elections. This included DP candidate Chong Won-o winning the Seoul mayoral race with 51.4 percent of the vote, against People Power Party (PPP) candidate and incumbent Oh Se-hoon, who received 46 percent.
Races in five areas — Daegu, North Chungcheong, South Chungcheong, North Jeolla and South Gyeongsang — were too close to call, according to the exit poll.
The main opposition PPP is expected to grab the governor seat in North Gyeongsang, with incumbent head Lee Cheol-woo leading at 69.7 percent against 30.3 percent by DP candidate Oh Jung-ki.
A separate exit poll conducted by broadcaster JTBC found similar results, with the DP leading in 10 of 16 metropolitan and provincial posts, while the PPP led only in North Gyeongsang.
![Members of the People Power Party await the results of the exit poll for the local elections on June 3 at the party’s situation room in the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/06/03/fba7cbbe-c57a-4c1a-9490-2923c002e379.jpg)
Members of the People Power Party await the results of the exit poll for the local elections on June 3 at the party’s situation room in the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
In Daegu, PPP candidate Choo Kyung-ho was in the lead at 49.9 percent, but his DP rival Kim Boo-kyum was at 49.1 percent, according to the joint exit poll. If Kim wins, he will become the first DP candidate to win the Daegu mayoral race.
The local elections took place exactly a year after the snap presidential election that saw President Lee take office following the impeachment and ouster of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who had imposed martial law in 2024.
Mayors and governors of 16 metropolitan cities and provinces were contested, along with education superintendents and heads of smaller administrative units, as well as 14 lawmakers in electoral districts holding parliamentary by-elections.
But as voting was underway, the National Election Commission (NEC) confirmed ballot shortages at 14 polling stations: 12 in Seoul’s Songpa District, one in Gangnam District and one in Gwangjin District.
According to the NEC, polling stations in Songpa District printed ballots equivalent to only 50 percent of the number of registered voters.
In response, PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok held an emergency press conference on Wednesday evening, describing the ballot shortage as “a grave situation that cannot be overlooked” and accusing the NEC of being aware of the risk in advance but failing to take adequate measures.
“The Seoul mayoral election has seriously infringed on voters' right to vote. The fairness of the vote has already been compromised. The Seoul election is tainted. A tainted election is invalid,” Jang said. “Stop the count immediately until the facts are established.”
PPP Seoul mayoral candidate Oh also called for a suspension of vote counting until all affected voters have been given the opportunity to cast their ballots, saying the NEC must take measures to restore the voting rights of those affected by the shortage.
Vote counting in the Seoul mayoral race was still ongoing as of 10 p.m.
Voting took place from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Turnout as of 9 p.m. was 61 percent out of 44,649,908 eligible voters, according to the NEC. Early voting turnout was 23.51 percent, the highest for local elections.
The total turnout was higher than the 50.9 percent in the 2022 local elections. Gangwon recorded the highest turnout at 64.5 percent, while Jeju saw the lowest at 56.4 percent.
For Chong, the DP's candidate for Seoul mayor, a victory would mark his first term as the capital's chief executive, following three terms as head of Seoul’s Seongdong District from July 2014 to March this year. If Oh loses, it will end his long career as Seoul mayor. Oh served two terms, from 2006 to 2010, and returned to the post by winning a by-election in April 2021, before winning again in the 2022 local elections.
In Gyeonggi, DP candidate Choo Mi-ae was in the lead, with 60.4 percent against PPP candidate Yang Hyang-ja’s 37.2 percent, according to the joint exit poll.
Choo is a sixth-term lawmaker and was nominated as the DP’s candidate for the Gyeonggi gubernatorial race over incumbent Gyeonggi governor Kim Dong-yeon. Yang is a former executive at Samsung Electronics and served on the PPP's supreme council.
Gyeonggi is the only province with female candidates this year. A victory by either candidate will make her the first female Gyeonggi governor.
Over in Incheon, DP candidate Park Chan-dae was in the lead with 53.7 percent compared to 45.5 percent for PPP candidate and incumbent mayor Yoo Jeong-bok.
For the parliamentary by-election in Busan’s Buk-A-constituency, DP candidate Ha Jung-woo is in the lead at 42.6 percent, but independent candidate Han Dong-hoon — a former head of the PPP and the former justice minister under ex-President Yoon — is at 41.6 percent, according to the joint exit poll.
For Han, a victory would mark his first term as a lawmaker and his return to politics after resigning as PPP leader in December 2024. He resigned after facing backlash for supporting a move to impeach then-President Yoon.
![Independent candidate Han Dong-hoon campaigns in Busan on June 2. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/06/03/3f9f0bee-106e-4f92-8931-b7413b92ce2f.jpg)
Independent candidate Han Dong-hoon campaigns in Busan on June 2. [NEWS1]
In the Pyeongtaek-B constituency in Gyeonggi, Rebuilding Korea Party candidate and liberal firebrand Cho Kuk was leading at 31.1 percent, followed by PPP candidate Yu Eui-dong at 30.6 percent and DP candidate Kim Yong-nam at 30.3 percent, according to the joint exit poll.
A victory in the by-election would mark a new chapter in Cho’s political career following a special pardon granted by President Lee last year. Cho had served a prison sentence for academic fraud and abuse of power.
The DP will still hold the majority of seats in the 300-seat National Assembly, even if it loses all 14 by-election races.
The DP’s resounding victory in mayoral and gubernatorial elections, meanwhile, could see smoother cooperation between regional and central governments through 2030, when President Lee’s term ends. This overlaps with the last years of the four-year terms of the mayors and governors.
BY PAIK JI-HWAN [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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