Woo Sang-ho defeats Kim Jin-tae to deliver key regional win; Democratic Party candidates win majority of votes across all four Chungcheong governorships

Woo Sang-ho (left), the Democratic Party of Korea's candidate for Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province governor, receives congratulations from former Gov. Choi Moon-soon at the party's Gangwon provincial office in Chuncheon on Thursday, after his election victory was confirmed. [Yonhap]
Woo Sang-ho (left), the Democratic Party of Korea's candidate for Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province governor, receives congratulations from former Gov. Choi Moon-soon at the party's Gangwon provincial office in Chuncheon on Thursday, after his election victory was confirmed. [Yonhap]

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 the June 3 local elections. The ruling party's wins in what were considered the most fiercely contested battlegrounds secured political momentum for the Lee Jae Myung administration.

Particularly notable was the Democratic Party's victory in South Chungcheong Province — the home turf of People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok — a result analysts say shows that the Democratic Party's campaign framing around the insurrection issue proved more effective than the PPP's push to put the government on trial.

According to vote-counting data from the National Election Commission, 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 believed the outcome reflected the genuine voice of Gangwon residents. "I take this as a message telling me not to be complacent and to keep running hard for Gangwon Province until the very end," he said. "I will work to fulfill the promises I made to Gangwon so that residents will say they made the right choice."

Democratic Party candidates swept all four Chungcheong regional contests, each winning more than half the vote against incumbent PPP officeholders. Daejeon Mayor-elect Heo Tae-jeong, who received 53.48 percent of the vote, previously served as Yuseong-gu district chief in Daejeon during the fifth and sixth rounds of local elections and as Daejeon mayor during the seventh. He had lost to incumbent Mayor Lee Jang-woo in the 2022 local elections but won the rematch.

South Chungcheong Governor-elect Park Soo-hyun, who served as spokesperson for Cheong Wa Dae under the Moon Jae-in administration and later as spokesperson for Democratic Party floor leader Jung Chung-rae, won 52.53 percent of the vote, outpacing PPP candidate Kim Tae-heum's 47.46 percent. South Chungcheong had been a province where the PPP was hoping for a dramatic reversal. Jang, whose constituency is Boryeong, campaigned across South Chungcheong and Daejeon, carrying out 16 scheduled events during the official campaign period.

North Chungcheong Governor-elect Shin Yong-han won 54.57 percent of the vote, defeating PPP candidate Kim Young-hwan. Sejong Mayor-elect Jo Sang-ho took 61.03 percent, well ahead of PPP candidate Choi Min-ho's 36.01 percent.


addressh@heraldcorp.com