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image captionOh Se-hoon was successful in Seoul
South Korea s governing Democratic Party has suffered a crushing defeat in mayoral elections in the country s two biggest cities, Seoul and Busan.
Candidates from the opposition People Power Party (PPP) won both cities by big margins.
Both former mayors from President Moon s Democratic Party were accused of sexual misconduct while in office.
In Busan, the incumbent resigned. Seoul s mayor was found dead in a suspected suicide.
The vote is seen as an important barometer of public opinion ahead of a presidential election next year.
The popularity of President Moon Jae-in and his party has plummeted to record lows in recent months due to sex abuse scandals, rising house prices and deepening inequality.
Opposition s landslide victory
Voters made relentless judgment on ruling camp
The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) won a landslide victory in Wednesday s mayoral by-elections in Seoul and Busan, dealing a fatal blow to the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK). The outcome was a direct result of the arrogance, self-righteousness, hypocrisy and incompetence that have characterized the Moon Jae-in administration and the DPK over the last four years.
According to the National Election Commission, Oh Se-hoon of the PPP defeated his DPK rival, Park Young-sun, 57.5 percent to 39.1 percent to become mayor of Seoul. In Busan, PPP candidate Park Heong-joon routed Kim Young-choon of the DPK 62.6 percent to 34.4 percent. The results ended the DPK s winning streak in four elections ― the 2016 general election, the 2017 presidential poll, the 2018 local elections and the 2020 general election. However, the by-elections, seen as a bellwether for the March 2022 presidential poll, ha
Song Kyung-seok/Pool photo/AFP via Getty Images
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toggle caption Song Kyung-seok/Pool photo/AFP via Getty Images
Oh Se-hoon (center), the mayoral candidate of the main opposition People Power Party, holds flowers as he celebrates with party members after exit polls showed he would win. Song Kyung-seok/Pool photo/AFP via Getty Images
SEOUL South Korea s ruling Democratic Party suffered a devastating defeat in Wednesday s mayoral by-elections, widely considered a bellwether for next year s presidential race.
President Moon Jae-in s party lost both by large margins in the capital Seoul and the country s second biggest city, Busan, to the conservative opposition People Power Party (PPP).
Photo : YONHAP News Anchor: The ruling Democratic Party suffered a harsh defeat in Wednesday s by-elections to choose the mayors of South Korea s two largest cities. The People Power Party s victory came after four successive losses in major elections as voters became disillusioned by sexual harassment scandals and skyrocketing home prices.
Our Kim In-kyung explains.
Report: It was a rough night for the ruling Democratic Party(DP), which lost the mayorships of Seoul and Busan to its rival People Power Party(PPP) in by-elections that were considered a referendum on President Moon Jae-in.
According to the final tally by the National Election Commission(NEC) early Thursday, the PPP’s Oh Se-hoon garnered 57-point-five percent of the votes cast in the capital city over the DP s former startups minister Park Young-sun, who received 39-point-18 percent.