South Koreans Vote in Local Elections and By-elections

South Koreans voted Wednesday to elect mayors, governors, local council members and regional education chiefs in contests described by officials as an early test for the current administration. m. m.

At 14,288 polling stations, the National Election Commission stated. 4 million who had already participated in two days of early voting the previous week. Sixteen mayoral and gubernatorial posts, sixteen education superintendent seats, 227 heads of local governments and roughly 4,000 local council members were on the ballot.

Fourteen seats in the 300-member National Assembly were also decided in by-elections held the same day. The capital region, home to about half the national population, drew particular attention. Recent surveys indicated several races had tightened ahead of election day.

The ruling party aimed to protect its parliamentary majority and legislative momentum, while the main opposition party sought to strengthen its position after earlier setbacks. One closely watched by-election took place in Busan for a seat previously held by the ruling party.

The seat became vacant after the Constitutional Court removed former President Yoon Suk Yeol over his martial law enactment.

In February, a Seoul district court convicted Yoon of rebellion and sentenced him to life in prison. Yoon’s ouster plunged the main opposition party into infighting between reformists who joined the push to impeach him and loyalists who attempted to protect the former leader.

The Seoul mayoral race pitted the ruling party’s candidate, a former district head, against the incumbent mayor from the main opposition party.

The opposition candidate told reporters Tuesday that Seoul voters should leave the capital as the last stronghold for checks and balances. The ruling party candidate said he expected voters to deliver a stern verdict on the incumbent mayor’s governance style.