'Penthouse' Parody, Chungju Man Appear: Election Broadcasts Fiercely Compete Until Dawn

South Korean television networks battled fiercely for viewership during the 9th National Simultaneous Local Elections and by-elections on June 3rd, with each broadcaster deploying unique strategies for their election results coverage.

Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) concentrated on providing in-depth analysis of the election landscape from a specially constructed outdoor stage at the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan, Seoul. They used graphics on the museum's 'Mirror Pond' to illustrate the flow of votes and incorporated artifacts unearthed from various regions to present voting results from those areas. The network featured political analysts, including Democratic Party lawmaker Jeon Hyun-hee and former People Power Party floor leader Kim Sung-tae, emphasizing professionalism and traditional analysis over novelty.

Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) captured attention with a generative AI-based countdown video titled 'Girl, and Us,' aiming to encapsulate the grand narrative of modern Korean history. They employed "cinematic prompt engineering," a technique that integrates camera angles and lighting designs into AI prompts, to maximize the cinematic effect. Before the exit poll announcements, MBC featured YouTuber Kim Sun-tae, known as 'Chungju Man,' along with science YouTuber Koido and French broadcaster Fabien, to highlight the necessity of region-specific policies and the significance of local elections.

Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) relied on its trademark witty parodies, a staple of its election broadcasts. Their coverage included 'Civilian Proxy Service, Ji-seon Taxi,' a parody of the popular drama 'Model Taxi,' which presented real-time vote counts. They also released a video titled 'In Search of Superhumans,' utilizing the song 'Super' by the K-pop group Seventeen. To add weight after the exit polls, SBS featured a debate between Democratic Party lawmaker Park Jie-won and former Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo. Furthermore, SBS collaborated with OpenAI to integrate artificial intelligence into its broadcast, with an 'AI Situation Room' analyzing election data, including battleground points and predicted win times, using ChatGPT.

In terms of viewership, MBC emerged as the most-watched network. According to Nielsen Korea, MBC's 'Choice 2026, MBC National Simultaneous Local Election Results Broadcast' Part 4 recorded the highest viewership rating at 8.3% nationwide. MBC's local election special 'Newsdesk' followed at 6.9%, with KBS's 'News 9' during the election broadcast interval securing third place at 6.3%.