(from left) Seoul Mayor-elect Park Won-soon, Busan Mayor-elect Suh Byung-soo, Gyeonggi Gov.-elect Nam Kyung-pil, Incheon Mayor-elect Yoo Jeong-bok, Daegu Mayor-elect Kwon Young-jin, and Jeju Gov.-elect Won Hee-ryong.

Who was the clear winner of the local elections that took place across the nation on June 4? Neither the opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) nor the ruling Saenuri Party has emerged as the clear winner.

Surprisingly, liberals, including Seoul Education Superintendent-elect Cho Hi-yeon, won in 13 of the 17 races for education superintendents, which coincided with the local polls. 

The final results of the 17 metropolitan mayoral and gubernatorial elections: the NPAD edged the ruling party nine to eight. Candidates on the ticket of the opposition NPAD won in mayoral and gubernatorial races in Seoul, North Jeolla, South Jeolla, North Chungcheong, South Chungcheong, and Gangwon provinces, but the opposition party lost to the Saenuri in Gyeonggi Province, Incheon Metropolitan City, Busan Metropolitan City, North Gyeongsang, South Gyeongsang provinces, and Jeju Island.  

The ruling party, however, swept the opposition party in ward and other low-level administrative posts and seats in metropolitan, provincial, and lower-level councils, breaking the opposition bloc’s traditional strongholds. 

The local elections, the first polls under President Park Geun-hye, have been seen as a litmus test of public support for the conservative government that has been under fire for the mangled response to the recent sinking of the ferry Sewol that left more than 300 people dead or missing.

The opposition party and its candidates seized upon the disaster as their main campaign strategy to chastise the incumbent government, while the ruling party appealed for support for its plans to push forward the national reform agendas. 

Views on the outcomes of the local elections were mixed. 

The ruling party seemed to have put up better-than-expected performances in the polls. 

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon of the NPAD has been reelected by defeating his rival Rep. Chung Mong-joon, one front-runner of Saenuri presidential hopefuls. The NPAD’s candidates beat Saenuri Party rivals in the traditional conservative provinces — North Chungcheong and South Chung-cheong provinces as well as Gangwon Province. 

The NPAD’s wins were dwarfed by the Saenri Party’s victory in the Gyeonggi gubernatorial and Incheon mayoral races. Rep. Nam Kyung-pil, a younger generation maverick of the ruling party, and Yoo Jeong-bok, one of President Park’s close confidants, each achieved an upset victory in the neck-and-neck races for Gyeonggi Province governor and Incheon Metropolitan mayor against their rivals, Rep. Kim Jin-pyo, a veteran of the NPAD, and incumbent Incheon Metropolitan Mayor Song Young-kil, by overcoming their deficits in the opinion polls. 

Other winners on the ticket of the NPAD are Gov.-elect Ahn Hee-jung of South Chungcheong Province, Mayor-elect Lee Si-joong of North Chungcheong Province, Gov.-elect Kwon Sun-taek of Daejeon Metropolitan City, Gov.-elect Lee Chun-hee of Sejong City, Gov.-elect Choi Moon-soon of Gangwon Province, Gov.-elect Lee Nak-yeon of South Jeolla Province, Gov.-elect Song Ha-jin of North Jeolla Province, and Mayor-elect Yoon Jang-hyun of Gwangju Metropolitan City. 

Mayor-elect Suh Byung-soo of Busan Metropolitan City, Gov.-elect Hong Joon-pyo of South Gyeongsang Province, Gov.-elect Kim Kwan-yong of North Gyeongsang Province, Gov.-elect Won Hee-ryong of Jeju Special Self-governing Province, Mayor-elect Kwon Young-jin of Daegu Metro-politan City, Mayor-elect Kim Ki-hyun of Ulsan Metropolitan City, are also elected on the ticket of the ruling Saenuri Party. 

The one bit of solace for the opposition party, even though many NPAD candidates failed to win, they put up better-than-expected performances in Daegu and Busan, the strongholds of the ruling party. The NPAD’s Kim Boo-kyung gained more than 40 percent of the votes in the Daegu mayoral race, while the Saenuri Party’s Suh Byung-soo narrowly beat independent Oh Keo-don in the Busan mayoral race. 

Rep. Cho Hae-jin of the Saenuri Party, in a closed door meeting of the ruling party’s lawmakers at the National Assembly on June 11, said media reports cited a draw in the polls, but he issued a warning against what he said was in danger of disintegrating its traditional strongholds. 

Reviewing the outcomes of the polls, members of the NPAD’s innovative representatives’ circle “Better Future” shared the view that the opposition party suffered a setback. 

Many pundits shared the views that the voters had sent warnings to both parties to join forces in helping the nation recover from the tragic sinking of the ferry Sewol and move on. 

President Park said on June 5 she humbly accepts the results of the local polls and will speed up national reform agendas. She made the remark at a meeting with decorated patriots and bereaved families prior to Memorial Day, which fell on June 6.