By Lee Tae-hoon
The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) emerged as the real winner in Wednesday’s fiercely-contested by-elections following a relatively high voter turnout of 39.4 percent.
Sohn Hak-kyu, chairman of the DP, clinched a National Assembly seat in the Bundang B district, Gyeonggi Province, a Grand National Party (GNP) stronghold.
With 51 percent of the vote, Sohn defeated former GNP leader and five-term lawmaker Kang Jae-sup in the affluent district, where voters had a strong tendency to pick conservative politicians. Kang won 48.3 percent.
Observers say the election outcome will provide fresh momentum for Sohn, who spearheaded the move to field unified opposition candidates against big-name GNP politicians, and staked his political life to enter the uncertain race.
They point out that the outcome will be a boon for the presidential ambitions of the Oxford-educated Sohn, who defected from the ruling GNP four years ago due to a clash with presidential hopefuls over primary rules.
The GNP only managed to secure one Assembly seat in the Gimhae B district, and even lost in the closely-watched battle for a governorship in its political home turf of Gangwon Province.
Former South Gyeongsang Province Governor Kim Tae-ho won against unified opposition party candidate Lee Bong-soo, 51 percent to 49 percent.
Another major victory for the DP came in the closely-watched gubernatorial race in Gangwon, in which Choi Moon-soon, who stepped down from his proportional representation seat, defeated his rival Ohm Ki-young.
Choi garnered 51 percent of the votes against Ohm’s 46.6 percent.
Both were born in the northeastern province and served as heads of national broadcaster MBC before entering politics.
They governorship had remained empty since Lee Kwang-jae of the DP was dismissed following a bribery conviction.
Early in the race, opinion polls suggested Ohm was likely to win the race with his support at 10 percent higher than that of Choi.
Kim Seon-dong of the minor opposition Democratic Labor Party (DLP) also won a legislative seat in the opposition stronghold of Suncheon, South Jeolla Province.
The GNP fielded no candidate because it saw no chance of winning there.
Political analysts say GNP Chairman Ahn Sang-soo’s party leadership will be challenged due to the disappointing campaign results.
They say the election outcome will make it difficult for Ahn to exert strong leadership in the future, and may make President Lee Myung-bak a lame duck for the remainder of his term.
As a result, the GNP now commands 172 seats in the 299-member legislature, while the DP has 87 and the minor opposition DLP, six.