Tag: election

It will be interesting to see if President Lee goes through with this threats to arrest people who are protesting against the ballot shortage in the recent election that denied people the ability to vote:

President Lee Jae Myung said Sunday that he accepts complaints about voting rights infringement over the unprecedented shortage of ballots in the recent local elections, but rejected claims of election fraud, arguing such claims skew the true nature of the issue.

Lee made the remarks during a meeting with his top aides held remotely from Rome, where he is visiting as part of a broader European trip.

Yonhap

Here is where he threatens protesters:

The protesters have demanded a re-run of the elections, while some argue the ballot shortages were part of a broad election fraud scheme.

The president dismissed such claims, calling them a distortion of the issue and an anti-social crime, saying those who commit such crimes must be held accountable.

“Spreading allegations of election fraud and (raising accusations of) election result manipulation are tantamount to distorting the essence of the matter and constitutes anti-social behavior that insults the precious voice of the people,” he said.

You can read more at the link.

How do you not print enough ballots for an election? Screwing up something as basic like this is what causes people to question the legitimacy of elections. If something like this would have happened during the Park Geun-hye administration what would the Korean left have done in response?:

Protests over ballot shortages entered their second day Saturday, with thousands encircling a vote-counting facility in eastern Seoul and demanding a new election.

By 12:35 p.m., approximately 2,000 people had gathered around SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium in Songpa Ward, according to police, claiming Wednesday’s local elections were fraudulent.

Protesters blocked entrances, trapping an estimated 20-30 officials inside. About 400 police officers were deployed to the scene. No clashes have been reported.

The unrest stemmed from the shortage of ballot paper at more than a dozen polling stations across Seoul on Wednesday, including in Songpa and Gangnam, forcing temporary voting suspensions. Some voters are believed to have left without casting their ballots.

Authorities managed to move the ballot boxes to the gymnasium Friday morning. Since then, protestors have surrounded the facility, preventing officials from removing the boxes or leaving the site.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Early predictions had Mayor Oh losing the race, but now with almost all the votes counted he has been declared the winner now:

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon of the main opposition People Power Party thanks supporters on June 4, 2026, after being declared winner in the Seoul mayoral race as part of local elections held the previous day. (Yonhap)

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) clinched a resounding victory in the local elections and parliamentary by-elections, winning the key mayoralty in the traditional conservative stronghold of Busan, while the main opposition party retained the Seoul mayoral seat. 

The DP won 12 out of the 16 key mayoral and gubernatorial seats up for grabs, including in Busan where Jeon Jae-soo was elected mayor, while the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) took four seats, including Seoul, where incumbent Mayor Oh Se-hoon was elected to a fifth term, according to the final vote count.

Of the total 14 seats contested in the parliamentary by-elections, which were held concurrently with the local elections, the DP clinched nine, followed by the PPP with four seats, while the remaining seat was won by an independent.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Congratulations to Yoon Suk-yeol on winning an extremely close ROK Presidential election:

Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) was elected as Korea’s next president early Thursday morning, narrowly beating his liberal rival.    
   
Yoon, the first former prosecutor to be elected as president, stressed a message of national unity and cooperation with the opposition in a speech at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, shortly after his victory was ascertained.    
   
In Korea’s closest presidential election, frontrunners Yoon and Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) were neck-and-neck in exits polls Wednesday evening, making a victor too close to call nearly all the votes were tallied around 4 a.m. Thursday.  
   
At 4:05 a.m., with 98.15 percent of the ballots counted, Yoon earned 48.59 percent of votes, effectively confirming his victory in the 20th presidential election. Lee received 47.8 percent of votes, just 0.8 percentage points less than Yoon.   

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but it will now be interesting to see what position Ahn Cheol-soo receives because it is arguable that his coalition with Yoon put him over the top to win the Presidency.

Additionally we will need to wait and see what the reaction from North Korea will be. Considering Yoon’s hardline rhetoric towards North Korea during the campaign it seems the Kim regime is likely to go bigger on whatever provocation they have planned. There has been reports of North Korea preparing for a nuclear test so this could be their response if preparations are complete. If not another ICBM or other missile tests would be a near term way for them to respond to Yoon’s election.

Koreans will be waking up with Moon Jae-in as their new President:

Moon was estimated to have garnered 41.4 percent of all votes, according to the exit poll conducted by three major local broadcasters — MBC, KBS and SBS.

The front-runner was followed by Hong Joon-pyo of the conservative Liberty Korea Party with 23.3 percent.

The outcome of the exit poll was announced as the one-day voting came to an end at 8 p.m.

Apparently seeing no possibility of the actual outcome of the vote being any different from the exit poll, Moon said his election, if confirmed, would mark the people’s and the party’s victory.  [Yonhap]

What surprised me about this election was how far the software mogul and populist candidate Ahn Cheol-soo dropped by getting 21% of the vote when at one point in the campaign it appeared he was challenging Moon Jae-in’s polling numbers.  Something else surprising is how well the conservative candidate Hong Joon-pyo did considering the drag that the scandal plagued former President Park Geun-hye created for conservative candidates.

I think what this means that instead of conservative voters rallying around Ahn Cheol-soo to deny Moon an election victory, they instead voted for Hong.  Hong and Ahn’s numbers together would have been enough to defeat Moon.

Here is what Moon Jae-in had to say about his election victory:

Seemingly moved by the overwhelming support, he threw his hands up to the sky and gave his symbolic thumbs-up gesture, prompting thunderous applause from party members and supporters there.

“This crushing victory was expected and is a victory of longing,” Moon told jubilant party members. “‘I will achieve reform and national unity, the two missions that our people long for.”

He went on: “The results will come in hours, but I truly believe that today is the day that opens the gateway to a new Korea. I will embody the public’s passion. Your sweat and tears will never be forgotten within me.”  [Korea Times]

I am not sure what the new Korea is going to look like, but everyone will find out over the course of the next five years of Moon Jae-in’s presidency.