Democratic Party candidates win all four Chungcheong regional governorships with majority votes; ruling party's 'insurrection accountability' message seen outweighing PPP's anti-government narrative

Woo Sang-ho, the Democratic Party of Korea's candidate for governor of Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, celebrates after his victory was confirmed at the party's Gangwon chapter office in Chuncheon on Thursday. [Yonhap]
Woo Sang-ho, the Democratic Party of Korea's candidate for governor of Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, celebrates after his victory was confirmed at the party's Gangwon chapter office in Chuncheon on Thursday. [Yonhap]

By Joo So-hyun, The Herald Business

The Democratic Party of Korea reclaimed Gangwon Province and the Chungcheong region for the first time in four years, led by governor-elect Woo Sang-ho's victory in Gangwon. The wins in one of the most fiercely contested battlegrounds of the June 3 local elections are seen as securing political momentum for the Lee Jae Myung administration.

Particularly notable was the party's victory in the South Chungcheong gubernatorial race — the home turf of People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok — a result analysts say shows that the Democratic Party's "insurrection accountability" message proved more effective than the PPP's call to hold the government to account.

According to vote tallies released by the National Election Commission on Thursday, Woo won 437,583 votes, or 51.81 percent of the 858,270 ballots cast, defeating PPP candidate Kim Jin-tae, who received 406,950 votes, or 48.18 percent. As results came into focus around 4 a.m. Thursday, Woo said he took the outcome as "the true voice Gangwon residents are sending me — an order not to grow complacent but to keep running hard for Gangwon until the very end." He added that he would work to fulfill his promises to the province so that residents would say they had made the right choice.

Woo had served as senior presidential secretary for political affairs at Cheong Wa Dae and was widely seen as "Lee Jae Myung's man." The Democratic Party threw its full weight behind him, naming him its first candidate endorsement as early as March. Party leader Jung Chung-rae held a field supreme council meeting in Cheorwon-gun, Woo's hometown, and convened the first meeting after transitioning to a campaign committee structure in Chuncheon, the provincial capital.

Democratic Party candidates also swept the Chungcheong region, each winning a majority of votes against incumbent PPP officeholders. Heo Tae-jeong, the Daejeon mayor-elect, secured 53.48 percent of the vote. He previously served as Yuseong-gu district chief during the fifth and sixth rounds of local elections and as Daejeon mayor during the seventh round, before losing to incumbent Mayor Lee Jang-woo in the 2022 local elections — a defeat he avenged Thursday.

Park Soo-hyun, the South Chungcheong governor-elect, previously served as spokesperson for the Moon Jae-in administration's Cheong Wa Dae and for Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae. He won 52.53 percent of the vote, edging out PPP candidate Kim Tae-heum, who received 47.46 percent. South Chungcheong had been a key target where the PPP sought a dramatic reversal. Party leader Jang, whose constituency is Boryeong, personally campaigned across South Chungcheong and Daejeon, fulfilling 16 scheduled appearances during the official campaign period.

North Chungcheong governor-elect Shin Yong-han won 54.57 percent of the vote, outpacing PPP candidate Kim Young-hwan. Shin joined the Democratic Party as a recruited candidate ahead of the 22nd general election and served as vice chairman of the Presidential Committee on Balanced National Development under the Lee Jae Myung administration. Sejong Mayor-elect Jo Sang-ho won 61.03 percent, well ahead of PPP candidate Choi Min-ho's 36.01 percent. Jo previously served as chief of political coordination under then-party leader Lee Hae-chan and as Sejong City's vice mayor for political affairs and economic affairs.

Analysts say public sentiment favoring the ruling party played a decisive role in the Gangwon and Chungcheong races, which were largely free of multicandidate dynamics or close competition. "Candidates without strong name recognition also lack a distinct political color, so they simply absorbed the president's approval rating — which is why the margins came out to around 10 percentage points," a ruling party official said.


addressh@heraldcorp.com