LEE JAE-MYUNG WINS INCHEON BY-ELECTION

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With Lee Jae-myung running as the Democratic Party’ candidate, the parliamentary by-election in the Gyeyang-eul district in Incheon drew greater attention than elections to select local government heads. Unlike predictions shown in pre-election surveys, Lee won over the ruling party candidate by a large margin. He will have to take responsibility for his party’s crushing defeat in Wednesday’s local government elections. Even party members called his victory a scarred triumph.

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Lee Jae-myung left his political foothold Gyeonggi-do province and ran in Gyeyang District B in Incheon. Pre-election surveys showed he was running neck and neck with the People Power Party’s Yoon Hyung-sun. But he defeated the ruling party opponent by a two-digit margin. Although Lee secured a parliamentary seat, he looked depressed and discouraged at a press conference.

[Soundbite] Lee Jae-myung(Elected in Gyeyang Dist., Incheon(DP)) : "I will join hands with you, respect your opinions and do my best to help Korea, as well as Gyeyang Dist. B move forward."

It appears Lee will have to take responsibility for the party’s crushing defeat in the local elections as the campaigning chief. Throughout campaigning, he struggled with a close contest against the ruling party rival and had to focus on his own election in Incheon. Therefore, he failed to produce the so-called Lee Jae-myung effect, of appealing to voters in the entire capital area.

[Soundbite] Park Seong-min(Political Consultant) : "The turnout dropped due to his candidacy, discouraging DP supporters from casting ballots. This is the decisive factor that determined the results."

Lee narrowly escaped the worst possible scenario, as Kim Dong-yeon who had promised to be his partner for political reform won the Gyeonggi gubernatorial election by a small margin over the ruling bloc's candidate after a very close race. Some party members already began criticizing Lee Jae-myung. Lee Won-wook, head of the party’s candidate nomination committee, assessed Lee Jae-myung’s win as a scarred triumph. Former lawmaker Lee Seok-hyun targeted Lee Jae-myung, saying that one person survived and all the rest perished. Observers believe Lee Jae-myung would run for the party’s chairmanship after becoming a lawmaker. But now, he is faced with the task of consolidating his political status in the party.