Oh Se-hoon, center, the People Power Party’s winning candidate in the Seoul mayoral race, celebrates Thursday at his campaign office in Jongno district, Seoul. Photo by Asia Today
June 4 (Asia Today) -- The biggest upset of Wednesday's local elections came in Seoul, where People Power Party candidate Oh Se-hoon overcame early expectations of defeat and won a dramatic late comeback victory in the mayoral race.
Oh's win allowed the conservative bloc to hold South Korea's capital despite a strong nationwide showing by the Democratic Party. The result immediately raised Oh's standing as a potential conservative contender in the next presidential race.
Oh narrowly defeated Democratic Party candidate Jung Won-oh after an extremely close vote count that continued into early Thursday morning, becoming the first person to win a fifth term as Seoul mayor.
"Citizens have once again upheld the democratic principle of checks and balances," Oh said at a press conference Thursday. "They have left Seoul as the last safeguard of democracy so that South Korea does not tilt completely to one side."
