hankyoreh

People Power Party leader Kim Gi-hyeon can be seen scowling at a meeting of the party’s Supreme Committee on Oct. 12. (Yonhap)

Jin Gyo-hoon of the main opposition Democratic Party was elected mayor of Seoul’s Gangseo District in a by-election on Wednesday. A push to rebuke the Yoon Suk-yeol administration seemed to work in an election that served as a proxy match between Yoon and embattled Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung. The election was regarded as a bellwether into public sentiment in the greater Seoul area leading up to the general election next April.

Voters emphatically rejected the ruling People Power Party’s (PPP) candidate Kim Tae-woo, 48, whose behavior had led to the by-election in the first place. Kim’s defeat is likely to prompt criticism of the PPP for nominating a flawed candidate and calls for the party to enact reforms in the runup to next year’s general election.

With the count complete, Jin Gyo-hoon had received 137,065 votes, or 56.52% of the total. That gave him a massive 17-point lead over Kim Tae-woo, who received just 95,492 votes, or 39.37% of the total.

Jin, 56, who had served in a senior position at the National Police Agency until he retired in June 2022, joined the Democratic Party and was strategically nominated for the election in August.

The early voting rate in this election was 22.64%, which was the highest of any previous by-election or recall election, but the final turnout (including early voting) topped out at 48.7%. That was lower than the district’s voting turnout in the local election on June 1, 2022, and also lower than the voting turnout in a by-election in Changnyeong County, South Gyeongsang Province, this past April.

The dramatic victory in an election that Lee Jae-myung had framed as a referendum on the Yoon administration, along with a judge’s recent rejection of the arrest warrant prosecutors had sought against him, is expected to solidify Lee’s leadership over the Democratic Party for the time being.

Ahead of the by-election for the mayorship of Gangseo District, Democratic Party nominee Jin Gyo-hoon stands with party leader Lee Jae-myung at a campaign event on Oct. 9. (Kim Bong-gyu/The Hankyoreh)

Following the confirmation of Jin’s victory in the election, Lee wrote on Facebook, “This was a great victory belonging to the public and a stern judgment about failed governance. I don’t see this as a victory belonging to the Democratic Party. Rather, it was a sharp rebuke from Koreans who want politicians to wake up and restore people’s livelihoods.”

Having met a cool reception from voters in the greater Seoul area, the PPP can probably expect demands for accountability and calls for more robust reforms. Even granting that the Democratic Party has enjoyed strong support in Gangseo District, the PPP’s 17-point defeat is likely to be blamed on a reckless nomination process.

After Kim Tae-woo was removed as district mayor following the Supreme Court’s confirmation of a suspended sentence against him, Yoon pardoned and reinstated him in August, paving the way for him to run for office. The PPP leadership is likely to come under fire for nominating Kim out of deference to the presidential office’s preferences.

“The People Power Party soberly accepts the sharp reprimand sent by the residents of Gangseo District and the Korean people as a whole. As a result, we will swiftly implement reform initiatives and institute changes in the nation that will meet public expectations,” said Yoo Sang-bum, the PPP’s senior spokesperson.

“The People Power Party is committed to meeting Koreans where they are with even greater modesty and humility.”

By Um Ji-won, staff reporter; Shin Min-jung, staff reporter; Kang Jae-gu, staff reporter

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