Democratic candidates lead major mayoral contests, exit poll shows
2026.06.03 22:59
| Democratic Party of Korea candidate for Incheon mayor Park Chan-dae (center) watches the release of exit poll results at his campaign office in Michuhol-gu, Incheon, on Wednesday. (Yonhap) |
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea appeared poised for a sweeping victory in South Korea's June 3 local elections, according to exit polls released Wednesday, with the liberal party projected to win most major mayoral and gubernatorial races nationwide.
As of 10:13 p.m., 15.88 percent of the votes had been counted.
A joint exit poll conducted by KBS, MBC and SBS showed Democratic Party candidates leading in 11 of the country's 16 metropolitan mayoral and gubernatorial contests. The main opposition People Power Party was projected to hold a clear advantage only in North Gyeongsang Province. Several races, including those in Busan, Daegu, North Jeolla Province and Gangwon Province, remained too close to call.
The Democratic Party held commanding leads in several mayoral races. In Gyeonggi Province, six-term lawmaker and former Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae was projected to defeat People Power Party candidate Yang Hyang-ja, 60.4 percent to 34.1 percent.
In Sejong, Cho Sang-ho was projected to defeat Mayor Choi Min-ho, 64.3 percent to 32.9 percent, while on Jeju Island, three-term lawmaker Wi Seong-gon was projected to defeat People Power Party candidate Moon Sung-yu, 62.2 percent to 34.9 percent.
Democratic Party candidate Min Hyung-bae was projected to secure an overwhelming victory in Gwangju, receiving 78.6 percent support against 12.8 percent for People Power Party candidate Lee Jung-hyun.
The People Power Party's strongest showing came in North Gyeongsang Province, where incumbent Gov. Lee Cheol-woo was projected to cruise to reelection with 69.7 percent support, compared with 30.3 percent for Democratic Party candidate Oh Joong-ki.
Among the closely watched battlegrounds, however, the Seoul mayoral race remained comparatively competitive.
Democratic Party candidate Chong Won-o was projected to defeat incumbent Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon of the People Power Party with 51.4 percent support, compared with 46.0 percent for Oh.
The capital, home to nearly one-fifth of the country's population and widely regarded as its most important political battleground, was expected to play a key role in shaping perceptions of the overall election outcome.
In Busan, Democratic Party candidate Chun Jae-soo was projected by the poll to receive 50.2 percent support, narrowly ahead of People Power Party candidate Park Heong-joon at 48.3 percent.
The Daegu mayoral race appeared headed for a photo finish, with People Power Party candidate Choo Kyung-ho projected at 49.9 percent and Democratic Party candidate Kim Boo-kyum at 49.1 percent in the broadcasters' poll.
In the Incheon mayoral race, Democratic Party candidate Park Chan-dae was projected to defeat Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok of the People Power Party, 53.7 percent to 45.5 percent.
Exit polls were conducted only in two closely watched by-election races: Busan's Buk-A constituency and Gyeonggi Province's Pyeongtaek-B constituency.
The leaders in both Busan's Buk-A constituency and Pyeongtaek-B appeared to hold narrow leads. In Busan's Buk-A, Democratic Party candidate Ha Jung-woo was shown to have a 1 percentage point lead over independent Han Dong-hoon, a former People Power Party leader, 42.6 percent to 41.6 percent.
In Pyeongtaek-B, the poll projected Cho Kuk, leader of the liberal Rebuilding Korea Party, to win a razor-thin three-way race with 31.1 percent support, ahead of People Power Party candidate Yoo Eui-dong at 30.6 percent and Democratic Party candidate Kim Yong-nam at 30.3 percent.
Exit polls fell largely within projections of opinion polls ahead of Election Day.
The KBS-MBC-SBS exit poll was conducted by Ipsos, Hankook Research and Korea Research International at 615 polling stations nationwide. The margin of error ranged from plus or minus 1.7 percentage points to 4.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.
Progressive bloc takes at least nine out of 16 education superintendent seats
Progressive-leaning candidates won at least nine of the 16 education superintendent seats on Wednesday, with conservative-leaning candidates emerging victorious only in Daegu, North Gyeongsang Province and North Chungcheong Province as of press time.
Education superintendent candidates do not officially run under political party banners, although they may express ideological affiliations and are often backed by progressive or conservative groups.
The number of progressive superintendents would remain unchanged from 2022, even as two progressive strongholds were merged into one constituency.
Progressive candidates won in Gyeonggi Province, Gangwon Province, Jeju Island and Busan, all of which had conservative incumbent superintendents.
In Seoul, incumbent Superintendent Jung Geun-sik, the liberal-leaning candidate, won the city’s most crowded education chief race, beating conservative-leaning candidate Cho Chun-hyuk by more than 10 percentage points.
In Gyeonggi Province, progressive candidate Ahn Min-seok received more than half of the vote. Ahn is a five-term former lawmaker from Osan, Gyeonggi Province.
Ahn promised to introduce AI into student evaluation and teaching, and to establish an AI Education Center in Gyeonggi Province together with major technology firms, including Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.
His pledges also include free school transportation for students and the creation of a 1 million won ($654) fund for middle school students, which the provincial government would manage for six years.
Former South Jeolla Province Superintendent Kim Dae-jung, a progressive-leaning candidate, was elected as the first superintendent of the newly combined Gwangju-South Jeolla Province constituency.
There was little surprise in Daegu, a conservative stronghold, where incumbent Superintendent Kang Eun-hee, a former minister of gender equality and family, beat progressive-leaning candidate Im Seong-mu by more than 20 percentage points.
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