Winners of the June 13 local polls are (clockwise, from far left) Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, elected for a third term,; Busan Mayor-elect Oh Geo-don,; Gwangju Mayor-elect Lee Yong-sup,; Jeollanam-do Gov.-elect Kim Young-rok,; Chungcheongbuk-do Gov. Lee Si-jong, reelected for a third term,; Chungcheongnam-do Gov.-elect Yang Seung-jo,; Gangwon-do Gov. Choi Moon-soon, elected for a second term,; and Incheon Mayor-elect Park Nam-choon.

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea snatched a landslide victory in local polls held across the country on June 13. Candidates from the ruling party won 14 out of 17 metropolitan government races up for grabs and 11 out of 12 parliamentary by-elections. The major opposition Liberty Korea Party suffered a humiliating setback by winning two metropolitan government races in Daegu and Gyeongsangbuk-do, the strongholds of the conservatives and only one seat in the by-election poll. The independent Won Hee-ryong won in the Jeju gubernatorial race.
The Democratic Party won the latest local polls following its victory in the 2016 general elections and 2017 presidential election, which grabbed parliamentary and administrative branches of state power as well as local power. The Democratic Party’s winning of the parliamentary by-elections has resulted in solidifying its standing as the No. 1 party in the National Assembly by increasing its parliamentary seats from the current 119 to 130. The Liberty Korea saw its parliamentary seats rise from 112 to 113, falling shy of seven seats from the ruling party.
Subsequently, the President Moon Jae-in government is expected to tighten its rein over the operation of state affairs. On the other hand, opposition parties, which suffered losses for the third straight time, are most likely to undergo political restructuring. Chairman Hong Joon-pyo of the Liberty Korea Party tweeted “The buck stops here,” hinting at his resignation to take full responsibility for the party’s humiliating loss in the polls.
According to the outcomes of vote counting standing at 97.9 percent as of 6 a.m. on June 14, candidates from the ruling party were confirmed as victors. They are Seoul Mayor-elect Park Won-soon, Gyeonggi Gov.-elect Lee Jae-myung, Incheon Mayor-elect Park Nam-chun, Gwangju Mayor-elect Lee Yong-sup, Gyeongsangnam-do Gov.-elect Kim Kyung-soo, Jeollabuk-do Gov.-elect Song Ha-jin, Jeollanam-do Gov.-elect Kim Young-rok, Daejeon Mayor-elect Huh Tae-jung, Ulsan Mayor-elect Song Chul-ho, Chungcheongbuk-do Gov.-elect Lee Si-jong, Chungcheongnam-do Gov.-elect Yang Seung-jo, Sejong Mayor-elect Lee Chun-hee. Mayor-elect Park Won-soon and Gyeonggi Gov.-elect Lee Jae-myung emerge as front-runners of the future presidential election. Park was reelected for a third term.
Daegu Mayor-elect Kwon Young-jin and Gyeongsangbuk-do Gov.-elect Lee Chul-woo were from the Liberty Korea Party.
Eleven out of 12 parliamentarian by-election polls, which coincided with the local polls, went to the ruling Democratic Party. They are Choi Jae-sung from Songpa B, Maeng Sung-gyu from Incheon Nam-dong B, Kim Jung-ho from Busan Gimhae B, Kim Sung-hwan from Seoul Nowon C, Yoon Joon-ho from Busan Haeundae B, Song Gap-seok from Gwangju Seo A, Lee Sang-heon from Ulsan Buk-gu, Lee Kyu-hee from Chungcheongnam-do Cheonan A, Yoon Il-gyu from Chungcheongnam-do Cheonan C, Seo Sam-seok from Jeollanam-do Yeongam/Mooan/Shinan and Lee Hoo-sam from Chungcheongbuk-do Jecheon/Danyang constituency. Song Eon-seok on a ticket from the Liberty Korea won in the Gyeongsangbuk-do Gimcheon electoral district by a margin of 493 votes over Choi Dae-won, an independent. The ruling party did not field its candidate there.
The ruling party dominated polls for electing local government heads by winning 151 out of 226 races. The Liberty Korea Party won 53 races, followed by the Party for Democracy and Peace with five wins. There were 17 independent winners.