![Lee Jae-gap, elected to the Andong City Council. [Andong City Council]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/06/04/news-p.v1.20260604.fea77bf39e1a40af8f3e5b2b0c2f65d4_P1.jpg)
South Korea has its first 10-term basic council member in the history of local self-governance — Lee Jae-gap of the Andong City Council in North Gyeongsang Province.
Lee ran as an independent in the 9th National Simultaneous Local Elections, held Wednesday, in Andong's "Ra" electoral district and won. The victory extends his record of representing constituents to nearly 40 years: 35 years across nine consecutive terms, plus the four years ahead.
The local elections are officially counted as the 9th edition, but Lee's total of 10 wins includes the 1991 ward, city and county council elections held when local self-governance was restored in South Korea. Since his first victory that year, he has won every subsequent election — nine consecutive wins from the 1st local elections in 1995 through this year.
The record is without precedent in South Korean electoral history. No elected official — including presidents and National Assembly members — has ever reached a 10th term. Even the late former President Kim Young-sam and the late former Prime Minister Kim Jong-pil, widely regarded as the most-elected lawmakers in Assembly history, topped out at nine terms.
Kang Pil-gu (75), a Democratic Party member of the Yeonggwang-gun council in South Jeolla Province, had been poised to seek a 10th term but ultimately decided not to run, leaving the distinction to Lee.
Lee ran as an independent from his first election in 1991 — when party nominations were not permitted — through the 4th local elections. He briefly affiliated with a party but returned to independent status midway through his 6th term.
Lee also has a personal connection to President Lee Jae Myung: when the president was serving as Seongnam mayor, Lee Jae-gap invited him to Andong — the president's hometown — and arranged a lecture there, at a time when Lee Jae Myung was not yet widely known in the region.
Reflecting on his latest win, the longtime community representative said the prospect of another term gave him pause. "After 35 years, I felt a sense of dread about doing it again," he said. "Still, I thought there should be someone in the council who knows the struggles of this hometown and always listens to what the people want — so I found the courage."
betterj@heraldcorp.com
