Seoul mayoral by-election
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s ruling party suffered a devastating defeat in a special election for key mayoral posts amid political scandals and policy blunders, vote counts showed on Thursday.
Millions of South Koreans went to the polls on Wednesday to elect chiefs of the country’s two largest cities, the capital Seoul and port city of Busan, among 21 local offices up for grabs.
The election was widely seen a key barometer for potential political shifts for Moon’s progressive party with less than one year left before the March 9 presidential election.
Moon and his Democratic Party have seen their approval ratings plunge to record lows in recent months amid skyrocketing housing prices, deepening inequality, sex abuse scandals and souring ties with North Korea.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s Democratic Party has suffered devastating defeats in elections for the mayors of the country’s two biggest cities, results showed on Thursday, amid political scandals and policy blunders.
The election on Wednesday was widely seen a key barometer for potential political shifts for Moon’s progressive party with less than one year left before a March 9 presidential election.
The mayoral posts, both held by Democratic Party members, became vacant last year as a result of sexual harassment allegations, with Seoul mayor Park Won-soon killing himself while the leader of the southern port of Busan resigned.
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Seoul and Busan Mayor By-Elections Spell Trouble for President Moon
The ruling Democratic Party failed to keep the mayor positions in the country’s two biggest cities in by-elections on Wednesday.
April 08, 2021
Oh Se-hoon, candidate of the main opposition People Power Party, holds flowers while watching televisions broadcasting the counting for the Seoul mayoral by-election at party headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, April 8, 2021.
Credit: Song Kyung-Seok/Pool Photo via AP
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Last year, the mayors of both Seoul and Busan, both members of the ruling Democratic Party, became embroiled in sexual harassment scandals. The mayor of Seoul committed suicide while the Busan mayor stepped down, leaving both posts vacant. In a blow to the DP, citizens in Seoul and Busan chose the main opposition party’s candidates to take up the mayor positions in by-elections held on April 7.