SEOUL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd June, 2022) South Korea's ruling conservative People Power Party (PPP) has won the majority of seats in local elections to choose governors, mayors and members of assemblies, thus strengthening the position of President Yoon Suk-yeol, who held a razor-thin lead in March election, the National Election Commission said on Thursday.
Representatives of the ruling party occupied 12 out of 17 posts of city mayors and provincial governors, with 99-100% of the vote counted as of 08:30 a.m. on Thursday (23:30 GMT on Wednesday).
In particular, PPP candidate Oh Se-hoon was re-elected Seoul mayor with 59.04% of the vote, beating his main rival � Chairman of South Korea's Democratic Party Song Young-gil.
Candidates from the South Korean ruling party also secured posts in the cities of Busan, Daegu, Incheon, Ulsan, Sejong and Daejon. Meanwhile, Democrats managed to take up only one mayoral post in the city of Gwangju, which is considered a traditional stronghold of democratic parties.
"I think we have completed a real change of government by winning local elections after (Yoon's) victory in the presidential election," PPP Secretary General Kweon Seong-dong said after the election.
The final turnout, including early voters, was 50.9%, with about 22.5 million out of 44.3 million citizens participating in the elections. The figure marked the second lowest rate in South Korea local elections history. The record low of 48.9% was reported in 2002. Meanwhile, the turnout at early voting, which was held from May 27-28, set a record high of 20.62%.
In addition to electing local authorities, South Korean citizens also had to choose those who would take seven vacant posts in the country's parliament. The ruling party won 5 out of 7 seats. The final turnout in these parliamentary by-elections is estimated at 55.6%.
