South Korea's Democratic Party Wins 12 of 16 Local Races as PPP Holds Seoul by Narrow Margin
Updated
Updated · Reuters · Jun 4
South Korea's Democratic Party Wins 12 of 16 Local Races as PPP Holds Seoul by Narrow Margin
3 articles · Updated · Reuters · Jun 4
Summary
Early NEC counts showed President Lee Jae Myung's Democratic Party winning Busan and leading in 12 of 16 mayoral and provincial contests, while PPP incumbent Oh Se-hoon was projected to narrowly keep the Seoul mayoralty.
More than a dozen Seoul polling stations ran out of ballot papers after stronger-than-expected turnout, forcing long waits, extending voting and leaving some voters unable to cast ballots.
The shortages sparked protests and fraud allegations from conservative groups and PPP figures, but the NEC apologized, ordered a full investigation and said there were no grounds to delay counting or rerun the race.
Seoul's likely loss would blunt what otherwise looked like a strong first-year endorsement for Lee, even as nationwide gains suggested support remained firm amid export growth, an AI-chip boom and a stock market rally.