The seventh local elections held nationwide on June 13th drastically transformed the political landscape as the ruling Democratic Party(DP) claimed a landslide victory, while the main opposition Liberty Korea Party(LKP) suffered a crushing defeat.

The DP clinched 14 of 17 governor and mayoral posts, while the conservative LKP managed to win in just two areas in its traditional strongholds-Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province. Independent candidate Won Hee-ryong won the Jeju governor's post.

The DP also secured 151 out of 226 constituencies for local governments at smaller levels. That’s far higher than the combined number of constituencies secured by remaining parties, including the LKP’s 35, the Party for Democracy and Peace’s five and independent candidates’ 17 constituencies.



In the parliamentary by-election, also held on June 13th, the ruling party secured eleven of the 12 vacated seats.

The election results can be explained by the fall of the previous Park Geun-hye administration and the peace momentum building on the Korean Peninsula, that included the historic summits between the two Koreas and between North Korea and the U.S.

President Moon's very high approval rating also helped.


Photo : Yonhap News, KBS News

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