It was a vote of no confidence in the leadership of the Lee Myung-bak administration. It is normal in Korea for local elections during a presidential term to come out this way. The difference this time is that the votes went to the Democratic Party even though the party itself is not very popular, has no clear leadership, and does not clearly stand for anything.
In contrast, President Lee is doing well. The country has recovered from the financial crisis. He had the advantage of tension with North Korea, which usually delivers votes to the conservatives.
In Seoul, Oh Se-hoon was clearly the better candidate than Han Myeong-sook because the latter has virtually no experience. However he won by a razor-thin margin,.
Young voters turned out. Many Grand National Party supporters didn't care and just enjoyed the holiday. The voter turnout of 54.5 percent was the highest in 15 years. Few deny the powerful role of social networking service Twitter in mobilizing young voters.
The governing camp should not shrug off the election result. It was a midterm assessment of the Lee administration. The government needs to do more homework reading public sentiment. It would be a mistake to think that voters always do this midway through a president's term. Rather they should accept why voters are so angry that they would support the rather ineffective Democratic Party.
President Lee appears to be turning the clock back on civil rights. Press freedom is seriously worse than before. Another notable element of the election is the split of the southwestern and southeastern provinces remains. Regionalism is still a big factor and remains a big problem for the nation. The victory should not be a moment of narcissism for the opposition Democratic Party. Voters backed it, but not because the Democratic Party has functioned well as an alternative voice to the Lee administration. Voters want the opposition to be reborn to check what they call the arrogant and one-way governing style of the ruling camp.
The result also surprised pollsters. Many opposition supporters remained hidden in surveys prior to the elections, creating a gap between the polls and the election result. The united opposition won by a landslide against the divided governing party. The young and middle-aged generations, namely those in their 20s, 30s and 40s, revolted at the last minute to vote for the opposition. The older generations, in their 50s and 60s, sided with the conservative candidates.
The naval tragedy has polarized conservative and liberal voters. Conservative candidates campaigned for a hawkish retaliation against North Korea. Liberals appealed to voters saying that a conservative party win would lead to uncontrollable inter-Korean tension, and possibly a war. The governing party's portrayal of liberals as North Korea sympathizers and its red-baiting scheme backfired. Voters were afraid of a possible conflict on the Korean Peninsula. The so-called Northern Wind strategy did not work for the ruling party this time.
Noteworthy is the re-emergence of the loyalists to the late liberal President Roh Moo-hyun. Three of Roh's alter egos, namely Lee Kwang-jae, Ahn Hee-jung and Kim Doo-kwan, won in races for governor posts.
The ruling party is divided. Popular former chairwoman of the Grand National Party Park Geun-hye was sidelined. The non-conservative opposition parties succeeded in unifying their candidacy.
President Lee's plan to scrap the Sejong City project also angered the central Chungcheong residents. They voted for every non-ruling party candidate.
The victorious opposition urged President Lee to conduct a large-scale Cabinet reshuffle. Governing party Chairman Chung Mong-joon and the chief presidential secretary offered to resign in the wake of the defeat. The opposition will press the government to re-chart inter-Korean relations, adopt inclusive politics, and reassess the Sejong City and four-river refurbishment projects. These are necessary to heal ideological divisions, regionalism and inter-Korean animosity. Partnership with the opposition is still elusive. The idea of leadership is not for a president - or a city mayor - to undertake development projects. Rather, the job is to create an environment where people may be healthy, happy and able to pursue their dreams. The country awaits statesmanship from President Lee.