'Conservative Strongholds' Chungnam Hongseong and Yesan, No Upset... People Power's Kang Seung-gyu Elected

57,043 Votes Received...Democratic Party Candidate Yang Seung-jo Defeated

Kang Seung-gyu, the candidate from the People Power Party, was elected in the Chungnam Hongseong-Yesan electoral district, considered the fiercest battleground in the Chungnam region.

According to the Central Election Commission on the 11th, Kang secured 57,043 votes, winning by a margin of 10,071 votes over Yang Seung-jo of the Democratic Party, confirming his election.

He previously won a seat in the 18th general election representing Seoul Mapo-gap district but lost in the 20th and 21st general elections. In this election, he moved to his hometown Hongseong-Yesan district and re-entered the National Assembly.

The Hongseong-Yesan district is a representative conservative stronghold in Chungnam. From the 17th to the 21st general elections, Hong Moon-pyo of the People Power Party firmly held the seat, establishing the perception that winning the party nomination equated to winning the election. Kang, who served as the first Senior Secretary to the President for Civil Society under the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, appealed during his campaign to "protect the conservative stronghold."

However, Hong declared he would not run after conflicts arose during the party primary over allegations that Kang distributed 10,000 presidential watches. Meanwhile, Yang Seung-jo, a four-term National Assembly member and former 7th-term governor of Chungnam, who is well-known in Chungnam, also ran, leading to a close race within the margin of error in opinion polls, but there was no upset.

In his victory speech, Kang said, "Today's victory is a consolidation of the desire to protect liberal democracy," adding, "I will work humbly and closely with the residents to solve the tasks ahead."

He continued, "Without the sacrifices and support of countless supporters, this moment would not have been possible," and urged, "Let us put yesterday's competition behind us and powerfully open a new era for Hongseong-Yesan toward tomorrow."