Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon of the main opposition People Power Party receives flowers in City Hall Thursday after being declared the winner of the Seoul mayoral race in local elections held the previous day. Photo by Yonhap
The ruling Democratic Party (DP) clinched a resounding victory in the local elections and parliamentary by-elections, winning the key mayoralty in the traditional conservative stronghold of Busan, while the main opposition party retained the Seoul mayoral seat.
The DP won 12 out of the 16 key mayoral and gubernatorial seats up for grabs, including in Busan where Jeon Jae-soo was elected mayor, while the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) took four seats, including Seoul, where incumbent Mayor Oh Se-hoon was elected to a fifth term, according to the final vote count.
Of the total 14 seats contested in the parliamentary by-elections, which were held concurrently with the local elections, the DP clinched nine, followed by the PPP with four seats, while the remaining seat was won by an independent.
Thirteen of the 14 parliamentary seats were previously held by the ruling party, but its loss of four seats was seen as a minor dent to its dominance in the 300-member National Assembly where it already controls a majority.
