Cho concedes around 3 a.m., saying 'PPP-zero' mission unfinished in Pyeongtaek; exit polls had shown him leading, but People Power Party and Democratic Party candidates overtook him; low early-voting turnout and negative campaigning cited as factors; only 2 of 24 Rebuilding Korea Party municipal candidates win

Cho Kuk, the Rebuilding Korea Party candidate in the Pyeongtaek B by-election in Gyeonggi Province, concedes defeat at his campaign office in Pyeongtaek on Thursday. [Yonhap]
Cho Kuk, the Rebuilding Korea Party candidate in the Pyeongtaek B by-election in Gyeonggi Province, concedes defeat at his campaign office in Pyeongtaek on Thursday. [Yonhap]

By Joo So-hyun, The Herald Business

Cho Kuk, leader of the Rebuilding Korea Party, finished third in the Pyeongtaek B National Assembly by-election in Gyeonggi Province on Thursday, capturing just 27.24 percent of the vote. People Power Party candidate Yoo Eui-dong, who had trailed in third place in polls taken before the blackout period, won the seat in what amounted to a split-vote windfall. With Cho and Democratic Party candidate Kim Yong-nam dividing the progressive vote, the party faces mounting pressure to answer for handing the PPP the seat. Merger talks between the Democratic Party and the Rebuilding Korea Party, which had been set to resume after the June 3 local elections, are now in limbo.

According to the National Election Commission's vote count Thursday, Cho received 26,209 votes — 27.24 percent of the 97,698 ballots cast. Winner Yoo secured 33,513 votes (34.83 percent), comfortably ahead of Kim's 27,675 (28.76 percent). Hwang Kyo-ahn of the Liberal Innovation Party received 5,959 votes (6.19 percent), and Kim Jae-yeon of the Progressive Party took 2,843 votes (2.95 percent).

Around 3 a.m. Thursday at his campaign office in Pyeongtaek, Cho told supporters that the top priority of the June election had been to achieve "PPP-zero" nationwide. "There were meaningful results across the country, but in Pyeongtaek we could not complete that mission," he said, bowing his head. "All of this is my shortcoming, and all of it is my responsibility."

"PPP-zero" — the Rebuilding Korea Party's central slogan for the June 3 local elections — ended in failure with Cho's defeat. Combined, Cho and Kim drew 53,884 votes, or 55.15 percent, far exceeding Yoo's total, making it difficult for Cho to escape blame for the loss.

The Pyeongtaek B constituency drew nationwide attention after both the progressive and conservative camps failed to field a unified candidate. Cho had overcome an early deficit to lead several polls, and the three major broadcasters' exit poll showed him at 31.1 percent, raising expectations of a victory.

As counting progressed, however, Cho slipped from first to second and then to third. When the count reached roughly 18 percent around 11 p.m. Wednesday, Kim overtook Cho. By midnight, with the count past 40 percent, Yoo had passed him as well.

In the final tally, Cho failed to finish first in any of the eight towns, townships and neighborhoods that make up the Pyeongtaek B district. Yoo topped the count in seven — including Paengseong-eup, his hometown and a conservative stronghold, and Godeok-dong, home to the Samsung Electronics Pyeongtaek campus and the district's largest pool of voters, as well as Anjung-eup, Poseung-eup, Godeok-myeon, Oseong-myeon and Hyeondeok-myeon. Kim won only in Cheongbuk-eup.

Analysts attributed Cho's poor showing in part to voter fatigue from his negative campaigning. Throughout the race, Cho repeatedly attacked Kim over remarks the Democratic Party candidate had made about the Sewol ferry disaster and the Itaewon crowd crush, as well as allegations of real estate speculation and a lending business conducted under another person's name.

A dispute over which candidate represented the "real" Democratic Party also appeared to weigh on progressive voters. In the final stretch, Cho intensified his attacks on Kim's background in conservative parties, calling him a "fake Democratic Party candidate." Low early-voting turnout — a metric that typically reflects progressive enthusiasm — was seen as another warning sign. The early-voting rate in Pyeongtaek B was 18.39 percent, well below the 24.12 percent average across the 14 by-election constituencies.

Merger talks with the Democratic Party have also hit a wall. The unexpectedly bruising contest left both parties in no condition to sit down at the negotiating table immediately. The Democratic Party has its own party convention coming up in August, and with Cho's defeat narrowing the Rebuilding Korea Party's leverage, the Democratic Party has little incentive to pursue a merger on equal terms. Some have raised the possibility of an absorption — individual members joining rather than a formal party-to-party union. Still, the argument that some form of merger must happen before the 2028 general election, given the vote-splitting that cost the progressive camp a seat, is gaining traction.

Having poured its organizational energy into Cho's by-election campaign, the Rebuilding Korea Party came away from the local elections with a dismal overall scorecard. The party had campaigned on the fact that all 12 of its Assembly members hold proportional seats, pitching a vote for Cho as a "one-stone, thirteen-bird" deal. Of the 24 candidates the party fielded in municipal chief races, only Jangheung-gun candidate Sa Sun-moon and Sinan-gun candidate Kim Tae-seong survived. Jeong Cheol-won, who pulled off an upset by defeating the Democratic Party to win the Damyang-gun chief seat in April last year, failed to win re-election. Kim Sung-hwan, who challenged Democratic Party incumbent Lim Taek for the Dong-gu district chief post in Gwangju, also fell short, finishing with 45.57 percent of the vote.


addressh@heraldcorp.com