Kwon Young-se Edges Out Kang Tae-woong by 0.66%p... 890 Vote Difference
Results Overturn Exit Polls... Jeong Il-young and Others in Incheon Yeonsu-eul
On the afternoon of the 14th, one day before the 21st National Assembly election, Democratic Party candidate Go Min-jeong and United Future Party candidate Oh Se-hoon, running in Gwangjin-eul, Seoul, campaigned at the intersection near Konkuk University Station in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, appealing for support. / Photo by Yonhap News
[Asia Economy Reporters Kim Ga-yeon and Intern Reporter Lim Joo-hyung] As the counting of votes for the 21st general election continued into the morning of the 16th, several 'ultra-close' constituencies where the outcome was decided by a razor-thin margin drew attention.
As of 7 a.m. on the day when the Central Election Commission had completed 99.7% of the vote count, Kwon Young-se of the United Future Party (Seoul Yongsan) narrowly defeated Kang Tae-woong of the Democratic Party in a tight race. Kwon secured 47.80% of the votes, edging out Kang who received 47.14%, with a margin of 0.66 percentage points. The difference in the number of votes was 890.
In Seoul Gwangjin-eul, Democratic Party candidate Ko Min-jung (50.37%) and United Future Party candidate Oh Se-hoon (47.82%) also engaged in a close contest. At around 3 a.m. on the 16th, when the winners and losers were becoming clear, the vote gap between the two candidates was only about 500 votes.
There were also results that overturned exit polls. In Incheon Yeonsu-eul, Democratic Party candidate Jeong Il-young (41.78%) defeated United Future Party candidate Min Kyung-wook (39.49%) by a margin of 2.29 percentage points in a dramatic victory. Earlier, exit polls by three major broadcasters had predicted a narrow lead of 0.9 percentage points for Min, but during the actual counting, the two candidates exchanged leads several times before Jeong’s victory was confirmed.
In the Incheon Dong-gu Michuhol-gu-eul constituency, independent candidate Yoon Sang-hyun received 40.59% of the votes, narrowly beating Democratic Party candidate Nam Young-hee, who received 40.44%. The difference in vote share was 0.15 percentage points, amounting to only 171 votes.
Independent candidate Hong Joon-pyo (Daegu Suseong) defeated United Future Party candidate Lee In-seon. Hong recorded 38.15% of the votes, narrowly surpassing Lee’s 35.77%. In an interview with 'Yonhap News' on the day, Hong said, "I will promptly return to the United Future Party to strengthen the party," adding, "We will start again to bring the administration in 2022."
Meanwhile, the Democratic Party and its proportional representation party, the Together Citizens' Party, were projected to secure a total of 180 seats on their own. The main opposition party, the United Future Party, and its proportional representation party, the Future Korea Party, secured only 103 seats.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
