The final turnout for the by-election was 24.6%… Busan Geumjeong 47.2% Jeonnam Yeonggwang 70.1%

Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Director General 23.5%… Incheon Ganghwa 58.3% Jeonnam Gokseong 64.6%

On the 16th, office workers count votes at the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education’s by-election counting station at Gyeonggi Commercial High School in Jongno-gu, Seoul. 2024.10.16. The final turnout for the October 16 by-election to elect four local government leaders and the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education was provisionally measured as 24.6%. The counting of votes will begin between 8:30 pm and 9 pm for each constituency, and a summary of the winner is expected to be announced late that night.

According to the National Election Commission on the 16th, 2,128,077 out of 8,645,180 voters participated in this by-election to elect four new leaders of grassroots organizations, including the leader of Geumjeong-gu in Busan, mayor Ganghwa-gun in Incheon, and the mayors of Gokseong-gun and Yeonggwang-gun in Jeollanam-do, as well as the Director General of Education of the Seoul Metropolitan Office were at 24.6%. This figure shows the combined early voting and absentee voting that took place on the 11th and 12th.

By constituency, the turnout for the Yeonggwang-gun, Jeollanam-do re-election was recorded at 70.1%. The glory is a fierce three-way race between candidates Jang Se-il of the Democratic Party of Korea, Jang Hyeon of the Fatherland Innovation Party, and Lee Seok-ha of the Progressive Party. The turnout for the Gokseong County mayor’s re-election was 64.6%. It was a four-way contest between Cho Sang-rae of the Democratic Party, Choi Bong-ui of the People Power Party, Park Woong-du of the Fatherland Innovation Party, and independent candidate Seong-ro Lee . In both cases, re-elections were held after the former county governors had their elections invalidated on charges of violating the Official Public Elections Act.

The turnout for the Busan Geumjeong-gu mayoral by-election was 47.2%, which is considered the biggest point to watch in this by-election. This election was held due to the death of the district’s former mayor Kim Jae-yoon. Geumjeong-gu is considered the ‘hometown’ of the ruling party, with conservative candidates winning eight times out of the district’s nine previous mayoral elections. However, as Democratic Party candidate Kim Gyeong-ji, who merged with the Fatherland Innovation Party, is in a close race with People Power Party candidate Yoon Il-hyun, neither the ruling nor opposition parties can guarantee victory.

The turnout for the Incheon Ganghwa gun by-election was 58.3%. The Ganghwa County Governor by-election was held after former County Governor Yoo Cheon-ho passed away from a chronic illness in March this year. Ganghwa-gun is considered a traditionally conservative area in Incheon. Of the nine county mayoral elections in history (including by-elections), conservative candidates won seven times. In this by-election, there were four candidates, including Democratic Party candidate Han Yeon-hee, People’s Power Party candidate Park Yong-cheol, independent candidate Kim Byeong-yeon, and candidate or -dependent Ahn Sang-soo, fighting hard.

The turnout for the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education by-election was only 23.5%. This election was held after former Superintendent of Education Cho Hee-yeon had her election invalidated due to the unfair hiring of a dismissed teacher. Democratic Party candidate Jeong Geun-sik, the lone progressive candidate, People Power Party candidate Cho Jeon-hyuk, the conservative candidate, and conservative candidate Yoon Ho-sang, who ran without a unification process, ran for the post. Candidates Chung and Cho created a two-strong structure.