DPK takes 17 of Seoul's 25 districts, reversing PPP majority

Voters cast ballots in the local elections at a polling station in Seocho District, Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap

The Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) was expected to win 17 of Seoul's 25 districts, reversing the People Power Party's (PPP) majority sweep in the 2022 local elections.

By 9 a.m. Thursday, with most of Seoul's districts having completed counting or surpassed 90 percent of their vote count, DPK candidates had secured or were leading in 17 races, including Jongno and Dongdaemun districts. The PPP had won or was leading in eight, including Yongsan and Gangnam districts.

Songpa District, where multiple polling stations ran short of ballots on Wednesday, was still counting as of Thursday morning, but the PPP candidate was expected to win.

The outcome marks a reversal of the 2022 local elections, when the PPP won 17 districts to the DPK's eight. Analysts partly attributed the result to voters prioritizing government stability over checking the new administration, as that vote was held just 22 days after former President Yoon Suk Yeol took office.

In 2018, the DPK swept all but Seocho District in the district chief races, even prevailing in traditionally conservative Gangnam. The then-ruling party rode a favorable political climate partly driven by inter-Korean and U.S.-North Korea summit diplomacy.