![Election workers open early-voting ballot boxes at a counting station set up at Seoul National University gymnasium in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, on Wednesday, the day of the June 3 local elections. [Yonhap]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/06/05/rcv.YNA.20260603.PYH2026060317260001300_P1.jpg)
International media took notice Thursday of South Korea's June 3 local elections, with several outlets attributing the Democratic Party of Korea's sweep of 12 of 16 regional governorships to President Lee Jae Myung's strong public support.
However, analysts noted that the People Power Party's retention of the Seoul mayoral seat tempered the significance of the Democratic Party's overall victory.
The New York Times described the elections as "a referendum on President Lee's leadership," adding that he "has gained popularity since taking office a year ago, buoyed by pragmatic diplomacy and a booming domestic stock market."
Bloomberg said the Democratic Party's victory "symbolizes President Lee's high approval ratings" and shows that the People Power Party "is still struggling to rebuild after former President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed martial law declaration."
Reuters reported that the ruling party's broad capture of local governments in President Lee's second year in office "shows he still commands strong nationwide support," pointing to robust AI chip exports and the resulting stock market rally.
Oh Se-hoon of the People Power Party retained the Seoul mayoral seat, which was described as a "symbolic setback" for the Democratic Party, with analysts saying that ceding the mayoral post in the country's largest and most politically significant city "diminished the meaning of the ruling party's victory."
The Associated Press also viewed the Democratic Party's loss in Seoul as "a setback in efforts to give President Lee a firmer political mandate."
AFP said the Democratic Party "swept most of the regional governorships in the local elections but failed to recapture the key Seoul mayoral post," calling the result "a signal that voters sought to check the ruling party's power."
Bloomberg also suggested the Seoul outcome "appears to reflect voters' top concern — a housing shortage that keeps driving up real estate prices — as President Lee struggles to cool an overheated property market."
In Wednesday's elections for 16 regional government heads across the country, the Democratic Party won 12 races — in Busan, Gyeonggi Province, Incheon, Gangwon Province, North Chungcheong Province, South Chungcheong Province, Daejeon, Sejong, North Jeolla Province, South Jeolla Province, Gwangju, Ulsan and Jeju.
The People Power Party took four — Seoul, Daegu, North Gyeongsang Province and South Gyeongsang Province.
Some foreign outlets also flagged a ballot shortage controversy. Reuters reported that the elections "were also marred by a shortage of ballots at some polling stations in Seoul," which forced some voters to wait for hours or leave without casting their votes.
Lee vows to 'humbly heed the will of the people'
![President Lee Jae Myung. [Cheong Wa Dae press photographers pool / Yonhap]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/06/05/rcv.YNA.20260604.PYH2026060421140001300_P1.jpg)
Meanwhile, President Lee said Wednesday that "the government will humbly heed the will of the people as expressed in the local elections" and pledged to "actively cooperate with newly elected local governments regardless of party affiliation."
Speaking at the opening of a senior staff meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, Lee said that "whatever the competition during the campaign, the ruling and opposition parties are all partners who must represent the sovereign people, protect their livelihoods and forge a better future for the nation." He urged the political community to "unite around the substantive improvement of people's lives, balanced regional development and national unity — as the sovereign people have commanded now that the election is over."
The remarks were widely read as a response to the Seoul mayoral race — the most closely watched contest of the election, drawing attention even from foreign media — in which People Power Party candidate Oh Se-hoon won.
Lee attended the meeting wearing a tie featuring diagonal stripes alternating in red and blue — the symbolic colors of the two major parties — a pattern sometimes called a "unity tie."
Lee also expressed strong displeasure over the ballot shortage, saying it was "very regrettable that an inexplicable gap appeared in election management, which must be more thorough than anything else in a democratic republic." He called on relevant agencies to "use all authority and responsibility at the administration's disposal to clearly establish why the problem occurred, and to hold those accountable where accountability is due."
He also demanded that "reliable and appropriate measures be put in place as soon as possible so that citizens' right to vote is never infringed upon even in the slightest."
yul@heraldcorp.com
