Gwacheon Mayor Recall Vote Rejected... Mayor Kim Jongcheon "Committed to Resolving Current Issues"

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyungsoo] The recall vote against Kim Jongcheon, mayor of Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, was rejected on the 30th. The recall vote was held because he was perceived to have responded lukewarmly to the August 4 real estate policy, which announced plans to build a large apartment complex on the government Gwacheon office site.

The Gwacheon City Election Commission conducted voting from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. at 20 polling stations. Out of 57,286 eligible voters, 12,409 people (including mail-in and early voting) participated. The final voter turnout was calculated at 21.7%.

For a recall vote to be counted, the number of voters must exceed one-third (33.3%) of the total eligible voters. The recall vote for the Gwacheon mayor did not meet this condition.

Mayor Kim returned to his position after being suspended from duty for 22 days following the initiation of the recall vote.

Since the introduction of the recall system in 2007, recall votes have been held for five local government heads, including the Jeju governor, mayors of Hanam and Gwacheon in Gyeonggi, mayor of Samcheok in Gangwon, and county head of Gurye in Jeonnam. In all cases, the number of votes was insufficient, and no vote counting took place.

Immediately after the rejection of the recall vote was confirmed, Mayor Kim said, "I thank the citizens who gave me the opportunity to work for Gwacheon City," adding, "I will do my best to complete major projects for the city's development during the remaining term."

He continued, "During the recall vote campaign period, I met many citizens and collected numerous opinions on difficulties in daily life and improvement measures," and said, "I will strive to solve issues directly related to the lives of citizens."