Seoul Mayoral Race Too Close to Call as Vote Count Continues Amid Ballot Shortage

Seoul's mayoral race is locked in a nail-biting contest between the Democratic Party's Jung Kang-ho and the People Power Party's Oh Se-hoon. As of 5:40 AM on June 4, the candidates were in a dead heat, with vote counting still underway.

The delay in vote tabulation in Seoul, particularly in areas like Songpa District, is attributed to a shortage of ballots during the local elections. This disruption has significantly impacted the final tally.

With 87.42% of the ballots counted, Jung held a slight lead at 49.01% to Oh's 48.27%. The race tightened dramatically in the early morning hours after Oh began a strong comeback around 4 AM, narrowing the gap to just over 30,000 votes.

Earlier exit polls had predicted a more comfortable win for Jung. A joint poll by KBS, MBC, and SBS released at 6 PM on election day projected Jung securing 51.4% of the vote, a 5.4 percentage point lead over Oh's 46%. JTBC's prediction showed an even wider margin, with Jung at 53.5% and Oh at 42.9%.