South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s ruling party swept most of the country’s major local elections, but a narrow defeat in Seoul has given conservatives a foothold to challenge his reform agenda.The loss in the capital, South Korea’s political and property-market centre, has taken the shine off an otherwise dominant performance by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), dealing a blow to Lee’s plans for tougher real estate taxation, according to observers.Across the country, the DPK won 12 of the 16 races for big-city mayors and provincial governors on Wednesday, including in Busan, the country’s second-largest city, previously governed by the conservative People Power Party (PPP).Before the election, the PPP controlled 12 of the country’s 17 mayoral and gubernatorial posts, while the DPK held five.The merger of Gwangju and South Jeolla province into a single administrative district this year reduced the number of races from 17 to 16.In Wednesday’s elections, voters chose the mayors of eight major cities, the governors of eight provinces, alongside local council members, school superintendents, and officials in smaller cities, counties and municipal districts.They also cast ballots to fill 14 vacant National Assembly seats in by-elections. The ruling party won nine seats, compared with four for the PPP and one for an independent candidate, allowing the DPK to maintain its comfortable parliamentary majority.
South Korea’s Lee scores ‘flawed’ poll win, setback for his property tax plan
The defeat in the Seoul election came after the incumbent mayor promised to act as a counterbalance to Lee’s administration.
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