Ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) leader Jung Chung-rae, front row second from left, and DPK floor leader Han Byeong-do, front row third from left, watch exit polls results as they are announced at 6 p.m. at the National Assembly building in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap

A year after Lee Jae Myung won the presidency in a snap election, the nation went to the polls again Wednesday to pick its leaders for local offices.

With early voting reaching a record high of 23.51 percent of all eligible voters, total voter turnout stood at 60.7 percent. Voters cast their ballots to elect people for 4,227 posts nationwide, including 16 metropolitan and provincial heads of government, as well as local mayors, councilors and education superintendents, with the final results favoring candidates from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK).

Joint exit polls conducted by the nation's three main broadcasters — SBS, KBS and MBC — announced at 6 p.m. that DPK candidates were in the lead in 11 races for the nation's 16 major metropolitan and provincial offices. The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) was definitively leading only in the North Gyeongsang Province gubernatorial race, with Lee Cheol-woo of the PPP garnering an estimated 69.7 percent of the vote according to the 6 p.m. exit poll.

In the Seoul mayor race, DPK candidate Chong Won-o was leading over incumbent Mayor Oh Se-hoon of the PPP by 51.4 percent over 46 percent. The Busan mayoral race saw Chun Jae-soo of the DPK just slightly ahead with 50.2 percent, compared to his opponent, incumbent Mayor Park Heong-joon of the PPP, at 48.3 percent. In Daegu, the race for mayor was extremely tight, with the PPP's Choo Kyung-ho leading over the DPK's Kim Boo-kyum by 49.9 percent to 49.1 percent in exit polls.

Early predictions seem to indicate that voters have confidence in President Lee, his administration and its agenda, providing support for its pursuit of artificial intelligence (AI) powerhouse status, balanced national growth and boosting the stock market, as well in sensitive security matters. The ruling camp may celebrate today, but must reset itself to serve its constituents and the nation. Hints of arrogance and complacency in the ruling camp have taken a toll in the past. The PPP must revamp itself — to the extent of being born again — to regain relevancy as a political party that can constructively represent the ideas of conservatives.

Among the by-elections, the race for Busan Buk-A district has been one of the most interesting, with the tight race between former PPP Chairman Han Dong-hoon and former adviser to the president on AI Ha Jung-woo developing into one of the most closely watched.

Wednesday's nationwide polls have been marked by the usual negative campaigning, mudslinging and involvement by central party leadership, but by Thursday morning, a new set of elected leaders will take office to take on the challenges of Korean democracy. They should look toward the future, turning pledges into real policies and benefits. Numerous candidates campaigned on turning their hometowns into semiconductor clusters or AI hubs. Post-election, they should be ready to forgo ill-fitting vows to focus on policies based on local competitiveness.

The new leaders will all have to tackle the burdens on people's daily lives stemming from the Middle East crisis, and particularly the "three highs" of inflation, interest rates and foreign exchange rates. The advent of AI technology development and trade issues have taken on unprecedented urgency seldom seen even a year ago.

Political parties compete on all levels, yet they must also cooperate and compromise on urgent national issues in the post-election period for the sake of national interest.

Source: Korea Times News