Kim Mi-kyung, former re-elected mayor of Eunpyeong District, celebrates the victory of candidate Kim Woo-young, enhancing prospects for a third term... Oh Eun-seok, mayor of Dobong District, the only People Power Party candidate Kim Jae-seop elected in 'Nodogang,' likely to boost regional development... Park Kang-soo, mayor of Mapo District, also shows a bright expression as candidate Jo Jeong-hoon narrowly wins Mapo Gap... Park Hee-young, mayor of Yongsan District, confirms conservative strongholds in Seoul's Gangnam, Seocho, and Yongsan districts with the election of endorsing lawmaker Kwon Young-se.
It has already been three days since the April 10 general election.
Elections are a harsh evaluation. It is more common for the underperformers rather than the well-performers to be punished in election results. In this general election as well, it was not so much that the opposition party, the Democratic Party, did well, but rather that the President and the People Power Party received a harsh judgment from the public.
Now, the elected officials should show mature steps by entering the lives of the people who live difficult lives day by day, rather than being intoxicated with the joy of victory. In particular, both the ruling and opposition parties should demonstrate a unifying approach to mend the deeply divided public sentiment by region.
If they become complacent and lose focus in victory, they may shed bitter tears in the next local elections and presidential election. The people are looking at their representatives in the National Assembly with a harsh gaze. The political circles, whose trust from the public is lower than ever, must deeply feel this unfavorable view.
In this general election, out of 48 constituencies in Seoul, the Democratic Party won 37 seats, and the People Power Party won 11 seats. The nail-biting election results seem to express the public’s earnest hope for the 22nd National Assembly.
Meanwhile, the district mayors in Seoul also experienced mixed feelings. Starting from whether the candidate from their own party was elected, they likely shared joy and sorrow depending on their personal relationships.
Kim Mi-kyung, Mayor of Eunpyeong District, appeared very joyful as Kim Woo-young, a candidate from the same party who previously served as the 5th and 6th elected mayor of Eunpyeong, was elected in Eunpyeong-eul. Both Mayor Kim and the elected Kim are former aides to Imi-gyeong, former Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly from Eunpyeong, and are very close. With former Mayor Kim Woo-young now wearing the gold badge, Mayor Kim Mi-kyung could not hide her joy even during a phone call with a reporter on the afternoon of the 12th. Especially, as a two-term mayor, Kim now occupies a more advantageous position for a third-term mayoral challenge in two years.
Oh Eun-seok, Mayor of Dobong District, also showed a broad smile as Kim Jae-seop, a candidate from the People Power Party, was the only one elected in the so-called “No-Do-Gang” (Nowon, Dobong, Gangbuk) area, which is a tough district for the party. Mayor Oh, who created an upset by being elected as Dobong mayor as a People Power Party candidate two years ago, gained confidence that “if you work hard even in tough districts, you can be elected” as Kim Jae-seop was elected again in a difficult area. Mayor Oh will work hard with the elected Kim for the development of Dobong. However, he regretted that Kim Seon-dong, a candidate he once served as a member of the National Assembly, was defeated in Dobong-eul.
Park Kang-soo, Mayor of Mapo District, was relieved after anxiously waiting until the early morning of the 12th as Cho Jeong-hoon, a People Power Party candidate, was elected in Mapo Gap. The Mapo area, consisting of Gap and Eul districts, showed difficult poll results for People Power Party candidates, but Cho Jeong-hoon, who gave his all until the end of the election campaign, succeeded in re-election. Since Mapo is part of the Hangang Belt area, the election was not easy, so Cho’s victory was close to a miracle. It is interpreted that this was the result of Cho arriving early in the area and doing his best until the end of the campaign.
Park Hee-young, Mayor of Yongsan District, was greatly relieved as Kwon Young-se, the candidate who nominated her as Yongsan mayor, was elected contrary to the exit polls from the three major broadcasters. Kwon Young-se’s election is significant as Yongsan is the center of the Hangang Belt where the presidential office moved, and it is expected to be the hottest development area in Seoul in the future, meaning voters protected the Yoon Seok-yeol administration.
Yongsan has once again confirmed that, except for Seong Jang-hyun, a Democratic Party mayor who succeeded in three consecutive terms in the 5th, 6th, and 7th elected terms, conservative candidates have never been elected in general elections. As a result, Yongsan District is expected to solidify its position as the third strong conservative area following Gangnam and Seocho districts.
Along with this, Ryu Kyung-gi, Mayor of Jungnang District, and Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon District, also showed relieved expressions as both parliamentary seats in their regions were won by Democratic Party candidates.
Ryu Kyung-gi, Mayor of Jungnang District, saw Park Hong-geun and Seo Young-kyo elected smoothly, reaching the milestone of a fourth term, which will broaden his future scope of activity.
Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon District, saw the local “Yonsei University alumni trio” of Kim Seong-hwan and Woo Won-shik elected to their third and fourth terms, respectively, leading local residents to already anticipate that the door for Mayor Oh to aim for a gold badge has widened.
In contrast to these mayors wearing joyful expressions, there are also mayors who cannot be simply happy.
In some places, candidates who previously competed with them or with whom they have poor relations were elected, creating difficult conditions for the local elections two years later.
It is not easy to speak specifically, but in some places, concerns about nominations for the next local elections are already expected. A Seoul metropolitan district official analyzed, “Elections are always an evaluation of past achievements and can be very harsh. Depending on how their future position changes according to this general election result, there will certainly be mayors who are happy and others who are worried.”
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