DP's Choo Mi-ae wins sixth term over PPP's Lee Yong in Hanam-A

Democratic Party candidate Choo Mi-ae, left, and Rep. Lee Yong of the People Power Party speak during their election campaigns for the Hanam-A District of Gyeonggi. [NEWS1]

Democratic Party (DP) candidate Choo Mi-ae won over Rep. Lee Yong of the People Power Party in Hanam-A District in Gyeonggi, in an extremely close race that ended with only 1,199 votes separating the two candidates.

Choo won 50.58 percent of the votes to Lee's 49.41 percent.

Voter turnout in Hanam was 69.8 percent, according to the National Election Commission.

Choo will now become a six-term lawmaker and is a strong contender for speaker of the National Assembly. She and DP Rep. Cho Jeong-sik, who is also looking at a sixth term, are likely to swap in and out of the role in the 22nd National Assembly.

Choo previously served as justice minister under the Moon Jae-in administration from January 2020 to January 2021, and was leader of the DP between August 2016 and August 2018. She previously worked as a lawyer and a judge before becoming the first woman to represent a constituency in Seoul since the Korean constitution was last revised on 1987.

Lee, a former national luge athlete and national bobsled coach, is a first-time lawmaker who was elected through proportional representation as a member of the Future Korea Party in the 21st general election in 2020.

According to a joint exit poll results released by the three terrestrial broadcasters KBS, MBC and SBS, Choo was expected to lead the race with 55.7 percent to Lee’s 44.3 percent.

The poll surveyed 359,750 voters at 1,980 polling stations nationwide as voting was underway, and had a 95-percent confidence interval with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 to 7.4 percentage points.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]