Democrats Cheer, but Stay Cautious; People Power Party Demands Halt to Vote Count and Rerun [People's Choice in the June 3 Elections]

As the countdown ended and the exit poll results for the June 3 local elections lit up TV screens, the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) election headquarters erupted in cheers. By contrast, the People Power Party headquarters fell silent. The results showed the DPK leading in 11 of the 16 regional governments nationwide, while the People Power Party was ahead in only one, North Gyeongsang Province. Still, leaders of both parties were seen watching the situation with somber expressions.
However, the People Power Party headquarters became busy after reports of a shortage of ballots at some polling stations in Seoul and Incheon. Party leaders even raised the possibility of suspending the vote count and holding a rerun election. Jang Dong-hyeok visited the National Election Commission (NEC) and urged it to halt the count.■ Democrats cheer over leads in 11 areas
At 6 p.m. on the 3rd, when exit poll results from the three major Korean terrestrial broadcasters — KBS, MBC and SBS — were released, the Democratic Party of Korea's election situation room in the main conference hall of the National Assembly Members' Office Building filled with cheers.
The DPK had already assessed the race for the 16 regional governor and mayor posts as highly favorable. It had classified six regions — Seoul, Busan, Ulsan Metropolitan City, South Gyeongsang Province, Daegu and North Jeolla Province — as battlegrounds, while judging Gyeonggi Province, Incheon, Sejong Special Self-Governing City, Daejeon Metropolitan City, South Chungcheong Province, North Chungcheong Province, Gangwon Province, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province and South Jeolla Province (Jeonnam), excluding North Gyeongsang Province, to be in its favor. Because the exit polls were also expected to tilt toward the DPK, many lawmakers gathered at the venue.
When the results showed the DPK in the lead, cheers and applause broke out across the room. But Jung Chung-rae and floor leader Han Byung-do kept a cautious stance. They looked tense, even clasping their hands together.
When the exit poll for the Daegu mayoral race came out as a toss-up, however, the applause died down and voices of disappointment could be heard. There were also sighs when Kim Yong-nam, the DPK candidate, was shown trailing in the Pyeongtaek by-election, where he was expected to face a close race against Cho Kuk of the Rebuilding Korea Party and Yu Eui-dong of the People Power Party. Relief followed when Lee Won-taek was shown slightly ahead in the North Jeolla governor race against independent candidate Kim Kwan-young.
Han Byung-do, co-chair of the campaign committee, told Yonhap News TV, "This reflects the public's enthusiasm and desire for a new local government and a working local government after the Yoon Suk Yeol government." He added, "We will probably have to watch the results until the very end, and it looks like it will be a sleepless night until dawn."■ "A tainted election is invalid; it must be rerun"
At the People Power Party's election situation room at its headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, only a heavy silence hung in the air. After the grim result showed the party leading in just one area, North Gyeongsang Province, Jang remained silent for more than 40 minutes before leaving the room.
But when ballot shortages in places such as Songpa District, Seoul, delayed voting, the situation room became busy. In some polling stations, voting was pushed back until 10 p.m., after the exit polls had already been announced. The People Power Party then called for the vote count to be suspended and for a rerun election to be held. Jang said, "The Seoul election is a tainted election, and a tainted election is invalid." He added, "The count should be suspended until the facts are confirmed, and the election should be held again depending on the outcome." The party argued that voters who cast ballots after the exit poll announcement could be affected by the situation.
Floor leader Song Eon-seok also called for the election to be postponed, citing Article 196 of the Public Official Election Act, which says local elections should be delayed in the event of a natural disaster or other unavoidable circumstances. Seoul Metropolitan City mayoral candidate Oh Se-hoon also said, "The count must be suspended before preemptive measures are completed in areas where people were unable to vote because of the ballot shortage."
haeram@fnnews.com Lee Hae-ram Reporter