Big shots suffer upset defeats

By Kim Se-jeong

Oh Se-hoon

Kim Moon-soo

The general election has seen high-profile conservative politicians face disappointing defeat.

Former Seoul Mayor and potential presidential candidate Oh Se-hoon saw the most unexpected failure.

Oh lost to liberal contender Chung Se-kyun in the Jongno district of Seoul. His defeat is taken seriously because Jongno is a symbolic constituency in Korean politics and Oh’s victory was widely anticipated.

Equally disappointing was the result for former Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Moon-soo, who was behind rival Kim Boo-kyum in the Suseong-A district of Daegu. The city has been a stronghold for the conservative Saenuri Party where President Park Geun-hye had enjoyed unfettered popularity. The last time a liberal candidate defeated a conservative was 31 years ago; so the result has confirmed President Park’s sinking popularity.

Voters in the Eungpyeong-B district in Seoul said goodbye to veteran politician Lee Jae-oh. Lee was in third place as of 10:30 p.m. He had served five terms for the ruling party, and drew attention in this election because he ran independently after the party dropped him in a primary poll.

The defeat of Ahn Dae-hee, a former Supreme Court justice, saw the ruling party investment going bust. Ahn lost to liberal contender Noh Woong-rae in the Mapo-A district. He initially planned to run for a district in Busan, his hometown, but the party pushed him into the Seoul district as a strategic nomination, which failed.

Lee Jun-seok of the Saenuri Party lost to Ahn Cheol-soo, the leader of People’s Party, in the Nowon-C district in Seoul. Dubbed “Park Geun-hye’s kid,” the 31-year-old successfully built his profile during the campaign. He served as a member of an emergency committee for the ruling party ahead of the 2012 general election. The chances of him defeating Ahn were never great, but he caught up with him after Ahn left the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea.

Hwang Woo-yea was another big figure in the Saenuri Party who lost. The former education minister was defeated by liberal contender Shin Dong-geun in Incheon’s Seo-B district.