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🇰🇷 South Korea /Elections & Politics

Seoul election: PPP downplays by-election calls after candidate wins

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Outcome reported
  • The People Power Party (PPP) is now downplaying calls for a by-election after their candidate won the Seoul mayoral race.
  • The PPP had previously demanded a by-election due to ballot shortages, citing potential election result distortions.
  • Opposition parties criticize the PPP's shift in stance, questioning their current position on re-elections.

The People Power Party (PPP) is adopting a more reserved stance on calls for a by-election in Seoul, a sharp contrast to their strong demands just hours earlier. This shift comes after their candidate, Oh Se-hoon, secured victory in the mayoral race.

We formally request the suspension of the Seoul election count immediately.

— Song Eon-seokPeople Power Party floor leader, at an emergency press conference demanding a halt to vote counting.

Earlier on election day, the PPP had vehemently urged for the suspension of vote counting and a by-election. Party leaders, including floor leader Song Eon-seok and spokesperson Jang Dong-hyuk, held emergency press conferences. They cited ballot shortages at some polling stations as a serious infringement on voters' rights and a distortion of the election results, drawing parallels to a German court's decision to nullify an election due to operational failures.

The fairness of the vote has already been broken.

— Jang Dong-hyukPeople Power Party spokesperson, stating that the election's integrity was compromised.

However, following Oh Se-hoon's win, the PPP's messaging changed. Song Eon-seok's statement acknowledged the "people's will" expressed through the local elections and no longer mentioned a by-election. Instead, the party focused on investigating the ballot shortage incident, holding those responsible accountable, and implementing measures to prevent recurrence. Prominent figures like Na Kyung-won and Kim Eun-hye, who had actively pushed for a by-election on social media, have remained silent on the matter since the results were confirmed.

We will humbly accept the will of the people expressed through the June 3 local elections.

— Song Eon-seokPeople Power Party floor leader, in a statement after the election results were confirmed.

This change in tone has drawn criticism from the Democratic Party. Rep. Jeon Yong-gi accused the PPP of seeking political gain by attempting to undermine the democratic system over administrative errors by the election commission. He questioned whether the PPP still insists on a re-election now that the results are finalized and asked for their clear position.

However, the PPP's attitude of trying to gain political advantage by shaking the democratic system itself using the election commission's administrative errors is a more serious problem.

— Jeon Yong-giDemocratic Party representative, criticizing the PPP's stance.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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