DP Lawmaker Cites 13 Races Decided by One Vote; PPP Urges 'Judgment' on Lee Jae-myung

On June 3rd, the day of the 6/3 local elections, Lee Nak-yon, the leader of the Democratic Party, urged voter participation by mentioning that there had been 13 instances in past local elections where victory or defeat was determined by a single vote. Jang Dong-hyuk, the leader of the People Power Party, appealed for votes, stating that the current administration's failures must be judged.

At a meeting of the Central Election Campaign Committee, Democratic Party leader Jeong Chung-rae cited 7 cases of ties and 13 cases of victory or defeat by a single vote in past local elections, emphasizing, "The weight of your single vote is never light." He appealed to voters to cast their vote for their favored candidate. People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk held a meeting of the Central Election Campaign Committee after voting in his constituency. Jang stated, "Giving up on voting is giving arrogant Lee Jae-myung an opportunity to be impeached," defining President Lee Jae-myung's remarks regarding his acting prosecutor general role as "blatant intimidation and the worst arrogance," and urged voter turnout.

As of 11 AM that day, the voter turnout was 15.0%, 3.0 percentage points higher than the turnout at the same time four years ago (12.0%). The record-high advance voting rate (23.51%) also appeared to be a strong figure.

While the Democratic Party predicts victory with a turnout of over 55%, the People Power Party interprets high turnout as a "vivid expression of public sentiment urging an end to the arrogance, self-righteousness, and unchecked actions of the Lee Jae-myung administration and the Democratic Party," with differing interpretations between the ruling and opposition parties. Although party leaders urged voter participation on this day, the impact of voters' choices on the final results remains to be seen. The outcome of this election is expected to be a significant variable in determining the future political landscape.