With advance polling open today and tomorrow, the 3 June elections are already underway, the first test for the incumbent president elected a year ago after his predecessor’s attempt to impose martial law. In the capital, conservative incumbent Mayor Oh is seeking a fifth term, but is feeling the heat from his challenger Chong. Housing is the hot issue in this election campaign.

 

Seoul (AsiaNews) – Pre-poll voting got underway today in South Korea for local elections and 16 parliamentary by-elections, on 3 June.

South Korean law allows for advance polling ahead of election day at designated polling stations, a right that President Lee Jae Myung himself and many other local political leaders have chosen to exercise.

There is a lot running on this year’s local elections, the first since the resounding defeat of the People's Power Party (PPP) exactly a year ago when the electorate punished the right-wing party for its attempt to impose martial law, which ended with the impeachment and trial of then President Yoon Suk Yeol.

For Lee's Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), this is a test after a year in government, as well as an opportunity to broaden its support at the local level.

The PPP currently holds 12 of South Korea's 16 provinces and provincial-level cities, but it seems unlikely to keep them, given deep internal divisions. In fact, the party's current leadership still supports Yoon, while former leader Han Dong-hoon, who opposed martial law, was expelled.

The latter is running as an independent in Busan's Buk-A district, one of six seats up for grabs in upcoming National Assembly by-elections, in a three-way contest with candidates from the two largest parties.

According to a recent Gallup Korea poll, President Lee enjoys a 64 per cent approval rating, a result boosted in recent months by an economic boom driven by global demand for microchips, but also by appreciation for his response to the energy crisis caused by the war in the Middle East.

For their part, Lee’s right-wing adversaries accuse him of using the courts and parliament to shield himself from criminal prosecution.

The spotlight of this election is particularly on the highly contested race in Seoul, where incumbent PPP Mayor Oh Se-hoon is seeking a fifth term against the DPK’s Chong Won-o.

Both have placed housing at the centre of their campaign, focused on expanding supply.

Oh proposes a more market-oriented approach, with the construction of 310,000 homes through private redevelopment and reconstruction projects, in addition to 80,000 public units.

Chong, conversely, advocates a more balanced approach, promising over 300,000 homes divided between public and private sectors, stressing the importance of a joint effort between the two.

On public transportation, Oh intends to introduce a wireless system to properly space subway trains, reducing wait times, and expand the use of the Climate Card, Seoul's monthly pass for the GTX-A and Shinbundang lines.

Chong, instead, aims to make services more accessible in underserved areas, introducing shuttle buses and nighttime services parallel to subway routes, thus ensuring mobility even after trains are closed.

Both have extensive political experience. Oh was mayor from 2006 to 2011 and again since 2021, while Chong led the Seongdong District from 2014 to March 2026.

In other cities, too, the candidates have established political careers. In Daegu, former DPK Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum faces off against Choo Kyung-ho, former vice prime minister and finance minister under the conservative Yoon administration.

In Busan, incumbent PPP Mayor Park Heong-joon is seeking a third term against Chun Jae-soo, a former minister and three-term DPK lawmaker.

The governorship race in Gyeonggi, the country's most populous province with approximately 14 million inhabitants, pits DPK lawmaker Choo Mi-ae against PPP candidate Yang Hyang-ja, a former Samsung Electronics executive.

The Gyeonggi provincial race is the only one this year featuring two women representing the two major parties.

• south korea
• local elections
• parliamentary byelections
• democratic party of korea
• dpk
• people power party
• ppp