People Power Party candidate Lee Dong-seok, the mayor-elect of Chungju, poses with his spouse at the campaign office in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province, after his election victory was confirmed Thursday. [Lee Dong-seok campaign]
People Power Party candidate Lee Dong-seok, the mayor-elect of Chungju, poses with his spouse at the campaign office in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province, after his election victory was confirmed Thursday. [Lee Dong-seok campaign]

People Power Party candidate Lee Dong-seok, 40, pulled off a dramatic late comeback in the Chungju mayoral race Thursday to become the youngest local government chief ever elected in North Chungcheong Province.

With 99.96 percent of ballots counted, Lee won 50.05 percent of the vote — 52,945 ballots — edging out Democratic Party of Korea candidate Maeng Jang-seop, who received 49.94 percent, or 52,821 votes. The margin of victory was just 124 votes.

Maeng had been widely favored heading into election day. A former chair of the Democratic Party's Chungju district committee, he was seen as the stronger candidate thanks to deep local roots and the advantage of belonging to the ruling party.

Early returns reinforced that expectation. Maeng led with 61.14 percent of the early-voting ballots and held first place through the middle of the count, making him the presumptive winner.

But in the early hours of Thursday morning, Lee began closing the gap, and around 4 a.m. the race flipped. Lee overtook Maeng in a dramatic reversal and ultimately secured victory by 124 votes.

A former journalist, Lee served as an administrative official in the presidential office under President Yoon Suk Yeol. At 40, he breaks the record previously held by People Power Party lawmaker Eom Tae-young — now representing the Jecheon-Danyang constituency in the National Assembly — who was 44 when he won the Jecheon mayoral race in the third local elections in 2002. Lee is now the youngest person ever elected to lead a basic local government in North Chungcheong Province.

"I accept the choice of citizens who wanted change in Chungju as a weighty responsibility," Lee said. "I will build an administration that puts citizens' lives first and proves its promises through action."

His key campaign pledges include attracting a general hospital to the West Chungju new town, establishing a Chungju tourism corporation, building a Seoul Arts Center branch, introducing a rotating physician program between Konkuk University's Chungju and Seoul hospitals, luring semiconductor component companies to the city, and developing a large-scale shopping complex.

[현장] 잠실에 갇힌 투표함…초유의 ‘투표용지 부족’ 밤새 뜬 눈으로 일촉즉발 대치 [세상&]

[현장] 잠실에 갇힌 투표함…초유의 ‘투표용지 부족’ 밤새 뜬 눈으로 일촉즉발 대치 [세상&]

[헤럴드경제=김아린·이영기·전새날 기자] “국민들이 다 분노하고 있다. 언제까지 대치할 순 없으니 올바른 대처를 해 달라.” 4일 오전 7시쯤, 서울 송파구 잠실7동 제2
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