By-elections fail to bring out most eligible voters

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By-elections fail to bring out most eligible voters

Published: 02 Apr. 2025, 18:20 Updated: 03 Apr. 2025, 12:28

CHO JUNG-WOO
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

A voter casts her ballot at a polling station in Guro District, southwestern Seoul, during the by-elections on April 2 to elect a new district chief. [NEWS1]

Local by-elections to select city mayors, district and county heads and Busan’s education superintendent took place Wednesday, marking the first nationwide election since impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol’s botched attempt to declare martial law last December.

The by-elections, held just two days before the Constitutional Court’s ruling on Yoon’s impeachment, saw a low voter turnout of 20.39 percent as of 4 p.m., according to the National Election Commission (NEC). Around 4.62 million people aged 18 and older were eligible to vote, according to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

Elections were held from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. at 1,468 polling stations to select five local government heads, eight metropolitan council members, nine district council members and Busan’s new education superintendent.

As of 4 p.m. Wednesday, voter turnout stood at 20.2 percent for the Guro District chief election and 17.1 percent for Busan’s education superintendent race.

Mayors and district chiefs were to be elected in Seoul’s Guro District, Asan in South Chungcheong, Damyang County in South Jeolla, Gimcheon in North Gyeongsang and Geoje in South Gyeongsang, along with a new education superintendent for the southern port city of Busan.

Both major parties — the liberal Democratic Party (DP) and the conservative People Power Party (PPP) — kept their election campaigns low-key, amid the Constitutional Court’s impending impeachment ruling and the devastating wildfires in the country’s southeastern regions.

A voter casts a ballot at a polling station in Busan during the by-election in April to elect the city's new education superintendent. [NEWS1]

PPP floor leader Kweon Seong-dong had planned to campaign for the Asan mayoral candidate on March 23 but canceled his visit to focus on the wildfire response. DP leader Lee Jae-myung also maintained a low profile, making only a single campaign stop in Damyang County on March 22, where the DP candidate is running against a contender from the minor liberal Rebuilding Korea Party.

The DP and PPP directly competed in only three local government head races: Asan in South Chungcheong, Gimcheon in North Gyeongsang and Geoje in South Gyeongsang.

The Busan education superintendent race is expected to be highly competitive, with two conservative candidates and one liberal candidate.

Jeong Seung-yoon, a former vice chair of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, and Choi Yun-hong, a former acting superintendent, are both running as conservatives. Kim Seok-jun, a former superintendent, is the liberal candidate. Jeong, considered pro-Yoon, has campaigned against the president’s impeachment, while Kim has taken the opposite stance.

In Damyang County, DP candidate Lee Jae-jong, a former Blue House administrator during the Moon Jae-in administration, is competing against Jeong Cheol-won, the Damyang County Council chief and a candidate from the Rebuilding Korea Party. The race is being closely watched as a test of DP leader Lee’s influence in the region.

Early voting, held last Friday and Saturday, recorded the lowest turnout for a by-election since 2017, at just 7.94 percent, according to the NEC.

Election results were expected late Wednesday night.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [[email protected]]