SEOUL, June 4 (Reuters) - South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's ruling Democratic Party swept the majority of seats in local elections, early vote counts showed on Thursday, but looked set to lose the crucial Seoul mayoralty amid a controversy over a shortage of ballot papers.
Opposition People Power Party (PPP) incumbent Mayor Oh Se-hoon was projected to clinch a narrow victory in the capital, leading Democratic Party challenger Chong Won-o by a razor-thin margin as of 8 a.m. local time (2300 GMT on Wednesday).
National Election Commission (NEC) tallies at the same time showed Democratic Party candidates winning Busan and leading in 12 of 16 mayoral and provincial contests nationwide, though counting was still underway in some regions.
The loss of Seoul, South Korea’s largest city and top political prize, would deliver a symbolic blow to Lee despite his party’s broader gains, complicating what had been expected to be a sweeping endorsement of his first year in office.
Analysts said control of the capital carries outsized political weight, and the result could temper the ruling party’s claim of a decisive national mandate even if it secures a majority of local governments.
Even so, the Democratic Party’s overall performance suggests Lee retains significant nationwide support, buoyed by robust export growth due to an AI chip boom and an accompanying stock market rally that has helped underpin strong approval ratings.
BALLOT SHORTAGES IN SEOUL
The vote was marred by disruption in parts of Seoul, where ballot papers ran out at multiple polling stations amid higher-than-expected turnout.
The shortages, reported at more than a dozen polling stations, forced some voters to wait hours or leave without casting ballots, with voting extended at affected sites.
The incident triggered protests by some voters and conservative groups, with PPP figures — before it became clear they were on track to retain the Seoul mayoralty — gathering outside the NEC to call for a halt to vote counting and a rerun of the race, arguing it had been “tainted.”
The NEC apologised and said it would conduct a full investigation, but said the incidents did not constitute grounds for delaying the election or holding a rerun.
Voters on Wednesday cast ballots for mayors and governors in 16 cities and provinces in a contest widely seen as a report card on Lee’s administration and a test of whether conservatives could regroup after the fallout from former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed 2024 martial law bid.
Before the vote, the PPP controlled 12 of the 16 local governments, but early results indicated it was still set to lose ground overall despite holding on in the capital.
The Democratic Party was making inroads across the country, including in Busan, a traditionally conservative stronghold, pointing to continued voter support for Lee’s economic and reform agenda.
(Reporting by Joyce Lee and Kyu-seok Shim; Editing by Jamie Freed)
