People Power Party candidate and incumbent Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is leading the closely contested Seoul mayoral race in Wednesday’s local elections.As of 8:00 a.m. Thursday, with 95.83 percent of votes counted, Oh secured 48.77 percent, narrowly ahead of Democratic Party of Korea candidate Jung Won-oh, who had 48.51 percent. People Power Party candidate and incumbent Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon (Yonhap) Oh, who had trailed the liberal candidate since vote counting began the previous day, rapidly closed the gap as ballots from conservative-leaning districts south of the Han River—particularly Gangnam, Seocho and Songpa—were tallied, and moved into the lead at around 7:16 a.m.By district, vote counting progress remains relatively low in areas including Yeongdeungpo, Dongjak and Songpa. In particular, counting in Songpa District has been delayed following overnight disruptions linked to a shortage of ballots at some polling stations. At the Jamsil 7-dong Precinct 2 polling station, two ballot boxes have yet to be transferred to the counting center.
milaya@heraldcorp.com
