I am an editorial writer at The Korea Times, focusing on foreign policy, North Korea and domestic politics. My key areas of interest include North Korea, foreign interference in elections, election integrity, cyberattacks and human rights. Prior to joining the Editorial Board, I served as both Politics Desk editor and Culture Desk editor. During my career, I have reported on the Presidential Office under the Lee Myung-bak administration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Assembly.
Former finance minister clinches upset victory in Gyeonggi election
Kim Dong-yeon, right, the former finance minister who successfully ran in the Gyeonggi gubernatorial election on the ticket of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), reacts to cheering crowd at his office in Suwon City's Paldal District, Thursday, by making a heart shape with his fingers after he was confirmed the winner of the election. Joint Press Corps
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Nail-biting two-way competition continued until dawn when the DPK candidate suddenly outpaced rival
By Kang Hyun-kyung
The Gyeonggi gubernatorial election was a drama.
The ruling People Power Party (PPP) candidate Kim Eun-hye had continued to lead, albeit with a narrow margin, since vote counting began Wednesday night. The gap between her and her rival, Kim Dong-yeon of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), had gone up and down from time to time, but her lead was never threatened.
Then things changed early Thursday morning. It was around 5:30 a.m. when the votes both candidates had garnered almost reached a tie. At that time, 97 percent of all votes cast had already been counted. From then, a rollercoaster ride continued for the two candidates until the DPK's Kim was finally confirmed winner in an upset victory.
It was the remaining 3 percent of votes that determined the fates of the two candidates, in favor of the DPK's Kim.
The former finance minister achieved a come-from-behind victory by securing 49.06 percent of all votes counted, slightly ahead of his rival Kim Eun-hye who earned 48.91 percent.
He said he would do his utmost to change and overhaul the troubled DPK. “I agree that the DPK needs to change and the residents of Gyeonggi Province know this, and that's why they backed me to win the election,” he said after his victory was confirmed.
His PPP rival conceded defeat.
“I thank all members of the PPP and staff of my election camp for their support. I know I came this far, thanks to them,” she said. “I did my best, but I lost. It is solely my fault. I congratulate Mr. Kim for winning the election. I think making Gyeonggi Province prosper and a better province for all is a shared, bipartisan goal for both the ruling and opposition parties. And I hope Mr. Kim, who was elected governor of the province, can make that dream happen during his tenure.”
The results of the Gyeonggi gubernatorial election have defied the early speculation about the possible negative impact of independent candidate Kang Yong-seok in dividing conservative votes. Kang, a lawyer and former lawmaker of the conservative party, won less than 1 percent of all votes counted. The election result is somewhat contrary to what the public opinion surveys taken before the election predicted. In some polls, support for Kang was as high as 10 percent. Other polls found that his rate ranged between 3 percent and 7 percent.
Kim Eun-hye, the People Power Party (PPP) candidate in the Gyeonggi gubernatorial election, concedes defeat at her office in Suwon's Jangan District, Thursday. Joint Press Corps
Due to his rating, albeit mostly in the single digits, his presence in the election triggered speculation that the PPP's candidate could suffer the consequences as a vote divide between her and Kang among conservative voters would be inevitable.
But the election results cleared this, only to find that Kang's presence was minimal to affect conservative voters in his favor.
Conservative voters were consolidated and cast their sweeping votes for PPP's Kim, but their support was not strong enough for her to beat her DPK rival.
The Gyeonggi gubernatorial election has been likened to the March 9 presidential election in some ways.
In both elections, the winners were determined by a razor-thin margin. President Yoon Suk-yeol defeated his rival Lee Jae-myung by 0.75 percentage points. In the Gyeonggi gubernatorial election, DPK's Kim outstripped his PPP rival by 0.15 percentage points.
The Gyeonggi election reminded the public of the March 9 presidential election also because the two Kims who ran in the gubernatorial election were closely affiliated with Yoon and Lee, respectively.
The PPP's Kim served as Yoon's spokesperson during the presidential transition period. The DPK's Kim, meanwhile, was initially a presidential candidate of a minor party he had created. He later dropped out of the presidential race to throw his support behind Lee. The former finance minister campaigned against Yoon along with Lee. For their respective bonds with the two political heavyweights, the gubernatorial election has been widely portrayed as a proxy competition between Lee and Yoon's allies.
Yoon was able to win the presidential election after fielding a joint candidacy with Ahn Cheol-soo. Some analysts said PPP candidate Kim's failure to field a unified candidacy with the conservative independent candidate Kang during the election period hurt her election.
“Kang scored 0.98 percent of all votes counted in the election. If those votes went to Kim, she might have won the election, considering the gap between her and her rival was merely 0.15 of a percentage point,” said Kim Young-woo, a former lawmaker.