(2nd LD) S. Koreans head to polls in local elections

(ATTN: CHANGES photos; UPDATES paras 8-9)
By Joo Kyung-don

SEOUL, June 1 (Yonhap) -- South Koreans voted Wednesday to elect mayors, governors, local council members and regional education chiefs in nationwide local elections that could determine whether the newly inaugurated government of President Yoon Suk-yeol can powerfully push its agenda in its first years.

Up for grabs in this year's local elections are 17 metropolitan mayoralties and provincial governorships, 226 lower-level administrative leadership positions, as well as 872 seats in provincial and metropolitan councils, and 2,988 in lower-level local councils.

Also at stake are seven National Assembly seats, with parliamentary by-elections to take place in districts in Daegu, Incheon, Seongnam, Wonju, Boryeong, Changwon and Jeju.

Voting kicked off at 6:00 a.m. and is to run until 6:00 p.m. at 14,465 polling centers nationwide, according to the National Election Commission (NEC).

COVID-19 patients and those in quarantine are allowed to vote between 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

There are 44.3 million eligible voters, 9.13 million of whom already cast their ballots during the two-day early voting last week. Turnout of the advance voting came to 20.62 percent, the highest for any local elections, the NEC said.

The NEC said the overall turnout as of 4 p.m. Wednesday, including the figure from the advance voting, had reached 45.4 percent, which was 7.8 percentage points lower than the figure logged in the 2018 local elections at the same time.

The election watchdog said the final turnout is expected to be lower than the 60.2 percent logged in the 2018 local elections as hourly voter turnout rates have come in lower than expected.

The elections come less than a month after Yoon took office.

Recent surveys have shown the ruling People Power Party (PPP) was expected to win at least nine out of the 17 key races for big city mayoralties and provincial governorships, including Seoul and Incheon, while the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) was expected to win at least four races, including three in the Jeolla provinces, its traditional stronghold.

The other four races are considered neck and neck, including the contest for Gyeonggi governor.

The PPP hopes it can extend the momentum of the March 9 presidential election victory.

While looking for a complete sweep on its traditional home ground, the Gyeongsang provinces in the country's southeastern area, the PPP is also hoping to win in key battleground provinces, such as the Chungcheong provinces and Gyeonggi Province.

It also aims to win at least four of the seven National Assembly seats in the by-elections.

The DP, which controls a majority in the National Assembly, is looking to recover from the presidential election defeat and expand its power across the nation to keep the Yoon government in check.

In addition to its home turf of the Jeolla provinces as well as Jeju, the DP believes it can turn the tables against the PPP in regions like the Chungcheong provinces, Gyeonggi Province and Gangwon Province.

Of the many battlegrounds, both parties view the capital area as the most important, as half of the country's population resides there.

While recent polls showed current Mayor Oh Se-hoon of the PPP leading former DP Chair Song Young-gil in the Seoul mayoral election, the race for Gyeonggi governor has been a neck-and-neck battle between former lawmaker Kim Eun-hye of the PPP and former Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon of the DP.

When it comes to the parliamentary by-elections, all eyes are on former presidential candidates Lee Jae-myung and Ahn Cheol-soo, since the victory could help them gain ground in their respective parties and pave the way to another shot at the presidency.

Ahn, who withdrew from the presidential race to endorse Yoon, is chasing the seat representing the Bundang-A district of Seongnam, just south of Seoul, as the PPP candidate.

Lee, who lost to Yoon in the presidential election by a razor-thin 0.73 percentage-point gap, is hoping to win the seat in the Gyeyang-B district in Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul, as the DP candidate.

In the run-up to Wednesday's elections, the PPP and the DP have been wrangling over various issues, from an extra budget bill to support pandemic-hit small merchants to a proposal of merging Seoul's Gimpo International Airport with Incheon International Airport.

The PPP believes Yoon's summit with U.S. President Joe Biden and recent North Korea provocations have helped make its case to voters, especially to those seeking the stabilized operation of the Yoon administration.

The DP, which scored a landslide victory in the 2018 local elections, has been contending that most incumbent local government heads are from the party and that they should continue their jobs.

The liberal party is also hoping it can overcome a recent internal feud, which was sparked by the DP co-interim chief Park Ji-hyun's call for a sweeping reform of the party, and a sexual misconduct case involving one of its lawmakers.

kdon@yna.co.kr
(END)