Voters tell DP to show restraint, urge PPP to reform with June 3 election results
Published: 05 Jun. 2026, 07:00
Updated: 05 Jun. 2026, 11:23
![Incumbent Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon speaks at Seoul City Hall in central Seoul on June 4 after his reelection at the June 3 local elections. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/06/05/8414ed96-703b-43c0-acce-da4e9d19b160.jpg)
Incumbent Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon speaks at Seoul City Hall in central Seoul on June 4 after his reelection at the June 3 local elections. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
The ruling liberal Democratic Party (DP) won a sizable victory in Korea's local elections on June 3, but the conservative People Power Party (PPP) could take solace in several key wins, including the Seoul mayoral race, the nation's marquee contest.
The DP seized 12 of the nation’s 16 metropolitan mayoral and gubernatorial posts, including the mayoral seats in the traditionally conservative cities of Busan and Ulsan and the governor's mansion in Gangwon, another conservative bastion.
However, the loss in Seoul took some of the shine off the DP's victory, as did its failures in four key battlegrounds, including Daegu and South Gyeongsang, where it had invested considerable political effort.
“I sincerely thank the people for delivering a major victory to the DP across the country,” DP leader Jung Chung-rae said at a press conference held on Thursday at the National Assembly in western Seoul. “It is bitter that we have failed to reclaim Seoul."
The PPP, in contrast, suffered a sharp decline in its metropolitan leadership holdings, which dropped from 12 to four. Yet with its dramatic victory in the Seoul mayoral race, the party had fared better than expected.
It also secured four parliamentary seats in by-elections — the constituencies of Busan Buk-A, Ulsan Nam-A, Pyeongtaek-B and Gongju-Buyeo-Cheongyang in South Chungcheong — previously occupied by DP lawmakers.
Still, defeats in the mayoral races in Busan and Ulsan, two traditional conservative strongholds, suggested that its longstanding dominance in the southeastern region is cracking.
“The public delivered a clear and remarkably balanced warning to both the ruling and opposition parties,” said Yoon Wang-hee, a political science professor at the Academy of Korean Studies. “They warned the ruling party to show restraint and avoid arrogance, while demanding the opposition undertake reform and return to political normalcy after prolonged turmoil in the aftermath of emergency martial law [declared by ousted conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol in December 2024]."
![Ruling Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae attends a press conference about the June 3 local elections at the National Assembly held in western Seoul on June 4. 2026. [LIM HYUN-DONG]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/06/05/8339682f-3a1b-44f6-9a81-a93c4dca1381.jpg)
Ruling Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae attends a press conference about the June 3 local elections at the National Assembly held in western Seoul on June 4. 2026. [LIM HYUN-DONG]
The ruling party’s "arrogance" and unchecked political drive had continued to the very last minute before the election.
“The party will never stop taking steps to eradicate the forces behind the insurrection,” DP leader Jung said in April, referring to politicians who defended or stood with ousted President Yoon.
After that, in May, Jung pressed ahead with legislation ahead of the election to establish a special counsel to allow prosecutors to withdraw indictments, a move aimed at removing criminal charges against sitting President Lee Jae Myung, a DP member. The DP has claimed that previous indictments against Lee were politically motivated and fabricated.
President Lee also weighed in on controversies stemming from Starbucks Korea’s recent marketing campaign, which was alleged to have insulted the May 18 Gwangju Democratic Uprising in 1980 through its so-called “Tank Day” promotion. Lee visited Busan and Changwon in South Gyeongsang in late May, which the PPP condemned as “election meddling using his authority.”
A senior DP official observed that Lee "stimulated the desire of voters for checks and balances and helped consolidate conservative support,” especially in Daegu.
![Incheon Mayor-elect Park Chan-dae waves his hands in the city on June 4. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/06/05/3e92aadd-1233-4385-b657-31ca842b3b25.jpg)
Incheon Mayor-elect Park Chan-dae waves his hands in the city on June 4. [YONHAP]
In the Seoul mayoral race, the most decisive factor seems to be concern over the government's one-sided approach to housing policy.
President Lee has posted messages targeting multiple homeowners, including nonresident homeowners, on social media, namely X, since the beginning of this year. At the same time, liberal lawmakers introduced bills to abolish or scale back the long-term holding tax deduction for single-home owners. Combined, these moves likely heightened anxiety among Seoul voters.
“The controversy over the tax deduction reverberated among voters in districts along the Han River,” said a second-term DP lawmaker. “The government may need to consider adjusting its housing policies.”
Voters also used the election to send a clear message that the PPP, now led by Jang Dong-hyeok, must embrace reform. The PPP winners in several key battlegrounds were figures who had long been at odds with the party’s current mainstream faction.
![[NAM JUNG-HYUN]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/06/05/4013a54e-964b-4064-89fd-3c018a503ec5.jpg)
[NAM JUNG-HYUN]
Han Dong-hoon, who was previously expelled from the PPP’s ethics committee in January, won in the by-election in the Busan Buk-A constituency as an independent. Oh Se-hoon, who pulled off a dramatic come-from-behind victory in the Seoul mayoral race, openly defied the party leadership. He had demanded a change in the party’s direction and called for Jang’s resignation. In March, he even refused to register as a PPP candidate in protest. Yu Eui-dong, who won the parliamentary by-election in Pyeongtaek-B electoral district, is also regarded as a moderate figure who stands apart from the party’s dominant faction.
“The results look like a remarkably sophisticated expression of conservative voters’ desire to cultivate the figures they see as the future of the party,” said a DP lawmaker representing a Seoul metropolitan area. “The party lost broadly, but the figures who defied Jang won the races that mattered most."
![Han Dong-hoon, a right-leaning independent candidate, waves his hand in Busan after winning a parliamentary seat for Busan Buk-A electoral district on June 4. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/06/05/274bf18f-4b99-4d94-91c6-71d689574258.jpg)
Han Dong-hoon, a right-leaning independent candidate, waves his hand in Busan after winning a parliamentary seat for Busan Buk-A electoral district on June 4. [NEWS1]
For both the DP and the PPP, however, restraint and reform may prove difficult goals to achieve.
Within the DP, a full-scale internal struggle for power is already underway ahead of the party convention expected in August or September. Amendments to the party constitution last year make would-be party leaders more sensitive to the preferences of its supporters. The amendment adopted a one-vote system giving equal weight to votes cast by rank-and-file members and delegates.
The DP is expected to debate revisions to the Criminal Procedure Act, which will determine whether prosecutors retain supplementary investigative powers. It would be the party’s final step to achieve its prosecutorial reform agenda. Efforts to revive a special counsel bill targeting alleged fabricated indictments against Lee, which were put on hold until after the election, are also expected to resume.
“Both issues are highly likely to become flashpoints among [DP] supporters who are registered as party members,” said a second-term DP lawmaker from the Seoul metropolitan area. “If the two issues coincide with the party convention, leadership contenders could find themselves competing to embrace increasingly hard-line positions.”
![Conservative People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok leaves the National Election Commission in Gyeonggi on June 4. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/06/05/51765a92-0cb2-4270-8385-3af613974564.jpg)
Conservative People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok leaves the National Election Commission in Gyeonggi on June 4. [NEWS1]
Signs of a power struggle are already emerging within the PPP. Although calls for Jang to take responsibility surfaced within the party, the PPP leader brushed aside demands for his resignation on Thursday.
“I will not turn away from the heavy responsibility entrusted to me,” Jang said. “Together with our party members, I will find a new path forward for our party.”
Independent but right-leaning lawmaker Han’s future also remains a potential source of conflict.
“I will keep my promise to return to the party,” Han said after his victory. His remarks are likely to become another source of internal friction on whether he would be readmitted.
“There is a growing possibility that establishment factions and reformist groups in both parties will clash over direction,” said Yoon Jong-bin, a professor of political science at Myongji University. “If they ignore the calls for restraint and reform and focus only on satisfying their most fervent supporters, they will ultimately drift further from the public and risk becoming parties that voters abandon. The rival parties’ future depends on how they interpret the message delivered in this election.”
![Kim Boo-kyum, a Daegu mayoral candidate of the Democratic Party, speaks after accepting the election results in the city on June 4. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/06/05/372ee404-b0a2-403a-abba-fa69bd370fe7.jpg)
Kim Boo-kyum, a Daegu mayoral candidate of the Democratic Party, speaks after accepting the election results in the city on June 4. [NEWS1]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY HAN YEONG-IK [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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