Lee Jae-myung "Will Align Well with Public Sentiment in Jeonnam and Seoul"... Evaluation of By-elections Excluding 'Busan Geumjeong'

Lee "Overcame Overwhelming Defeat in Incheon Ganghwa-gun"
No Evaluation from Lee Jae-myung on 'Busan Geumjeong-gu'
Kim Min-seok "Reaffirmed the Importance of Managing Sudden Adverse Events"

The leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea evaluated the results of the by-elections. Party leader Lee Jae-myung expressed gratitude regarding the election but did not comment on the significant margin of defeat in Busan Geumjeong-gu.

On the morning of the 18th, at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly, Lee said, "I thank the citizens who chose the Democratic Party despite the shortcomings of our party and candidates in this by-election, as well as the residents of Jeonnam." He added, "In Ganghwa-gun, Incheon, escaping from an overwhelming deficit to a close race is also a new expectation for the Democratic Party," and "Although the Seoul Superintendent of Education election is not a party election, it clearly showed what the citizens of Seoul aspire to." The Democratic Party won in Jeollanam-do’s Gokseong-gun and Yeonggwang-gun, where competition among opposition parties took place. In Ganghwa-gun, Incheon, the People Power Party unexpectedly won by about an 8 percentage point margin. The Seoul Superintendent of Education, who has no party affiliation, was elected as a unified progressive candidate.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Kim Min-seok, Supreme Council member, are talking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 18th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

Leader Lee remained reserved regarding the Busan Geumjeong-gu mayoral by-election. In Geumjeong-gu, Yoon Il-hyun of the People Power Party defeated Kim Gyeong-ji of the Democratic Party, who received 34,887 votes (38.96%), by securing 54,650 votes (61.03%). Compared to Kim’s last-minute unification with the Joguk Innovation Party, the result was analyzed as falling short of expectations.

However, Supreme Council member Kim Min-seok gave an overall assessment of the election, stating, "The widening vote gap in Geumjeong-gu, an area with an absolutely high elderly population, was a regretful reminder of the need for region-specific policies and organizational strengthening, as well as the importance of managing unexpected adverse events." He believed that the strategy emphasizing 'regime judgment' rather than pledges on local issues did not work. Additionally, Council member Kim referred to the 'Kim Young-bae verbal abuse incident' as an 'unexpected adverse event.'