1998 South Korean local elections

The 2nd Local Elections were held in South Korea on 4 June 1998. A total of seven metropolitan city mayors, nine provincial governors, 680 provincial-level councilors, 232 municipal-level mayors and 3,490 municipal-level councilors were elected.

1998 South Korean local elections

← 1995 4 June 1998 2002 →
All 16 Metropolitan Mayors and Governors, 690 Provincial Councillors, 232 Municipal Leaders, 3,490 Municipal Councillors
Turnout	52.7%(15.7pp)
First party Second party Third party   Leader Kim Dae-jung Cho Soon Kim Jong-pil Party National Congress Grand National United Liberal Democrats Metropolitan Mayors and Governors 6 (2 ) 6 (3 ) 4 () Provincial Councillors 84 () 74 (80 ) 29 (6 ) Municipal Leaders 303 (86) 253 (372 ) 95 (1 )
Gubernatorial & metropolitan mayoral elections: overall results and turnouts Gubernatorial & metropolitan mayoral elections: municipal-level breakdown

Metropolitan city mayoral elections

Seoul

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Goh Kun	National Congress	1,838,348	53.46
	Choi Byung-ryul	Grand National	1,512,854	43.99
	Lee Byung-ho	Independent	87,495	2.54
Total			3,438,697	100.00
Valid votes			3,438,697	98.90
Invalid/blank votes			38,408	1.10
Total votes			3,477,105	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			7,377,751	47.13
	National Congress gain[1]

Busan

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Ahn Sang-yeong	Grand National	558,909	45.14
	Kim Ki-jae	Independent	537,983	43.45
	Ha Il-min	National Congress	141,172	11.40
Total			1,238,064	100.00
Valid votes			1,238,064	98.30
Invalid/blank votes			21,413	1.70
Total votes			1,259,477	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			2,699,499	46.66
	Grand National hold[1]

Daegu

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Moon Hee-gap	Grand National	570,167	71.99
	Lee Eui-ik	United Liberal Democrats	163,653	20.66
	Yoo Sung-hwan	New People	58,243	7.35
Total			792,063	100.00
Valid votes			792,063	98.59
Invalid/blank votes			11,300	1.41
Total votes			803,363	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			1,716,312	46.81
	Grand National hold[1]

Incheon

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Choi Ki-sun	United Liberal Democrats	375,051	53.50
	Ahn Sang-soo	Grand National	238,708	34.05
	Kim Yong-mo	New People	87,327	12.46
Total			701,086	100.00
Valid votes			701,086	97.79
Invalid/blank votes			15,837	2.21
Total votes			716,923	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			1,659,977	43.19
	United Liberal Democrats hold[1]

Gwangju

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Goh Jae-yu	National Congress	261,578	67.21
	Lee Seung-chae	Independent	127,626	32.79
Total			389,204	100.00
Valid votes			389,204	98.38
Invalid/blank votes			6,425	1.62
Total votes			395,629	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			877,868	45.07
	National Congress hold[1]

Daejeon

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Hong Sun-ki	United Liberal Democrats	286,255	73.69
	Song Chun-young	New People	70,414	18.13
	Cho Myung-hyun	Independent	31,796	8.19
Total			388,465	100.00
Valid votes			388,465	98.31
Invalid/blank votes			6,659	1.69
Total votes			395,124	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			888,968	44.45
	United Liberal Democrats hold[1]

Ulsan

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Shim Wan-koo	Grand National	160,491	42.74
	Song Cheol-ho	Independent	148,126	39.45
	Kang Chung-ho	New People	37,139	9.89
	Cha Hwa-joon	United Liberal Democrats	29,725	7.92
Total			375,481	100.00
Valid votes			375,481	98.81
Invalid/blank votes			4,538	1.19
Total votes			380,019	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			659,965	57.58
	Grand National hold[1]

Gubernatorial elections

Gyeonggi

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Lim Chang-yeol	National Congress	1,549,189	54.31
	Sohn Hak-kyu	Grand National	1,303,340	45.69
Total			2,852,529	100.00
Valid votes			2,852,529	98.36
Invalid/blank votes			47,673	1.64
Total votes			2,900,202	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			5,800,425	50.00
	National Congress gain[1]

Gangwon

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Kim Jin-sun	Grand National	268,559	39.28
	Han Ho-sun	United Liberal Democrats	231,376	33.84
	Lee Sang-ryong	Independent	183,775	26.88
Total			683,710	100.00
Valid votes			683,710	97.85
Invalid/blank votes			14,995	2.15
Total votes			698,705	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			1,087,113	64.27
	Grand National gain from Independent[1]

North Chungcheong

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Lee Won-jong	United Liberal Democrats	451,533	74.14
	Ju Byeong-deok	Grand National	157,459	25.86
Total			608,992	100.00
Valid votes			608,992	97.55
Invalid/blank votes			15,306	2.45
Total votes			624,298	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			1,025,022	60.91
	United Liberal Democrats gain from Grand National[1]

South Chungcheong

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Sim Dae-pyung	United Liberal Democrats	656,795	84.64
	Han Chung-soo	Grand National	119,216	15.36
Total			776,011	100.00
Valid votes			776,011	97.08
Invalid/blank votes			23,303	2.92
Total votes			799,314	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			1,343,633	59.49
	United Liberal Democrats hold[1]

North Jeolla

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Yu Jong-geun	National Congress	758,141	100.00
Total			758,141	100.00
Valid votes			758,141	93.69
Invalid/blank votes			51,026	6.31
Total votes			809,167	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			1,400,419	57.78
	National Congress hold[1]

South Jeolla

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Heo Kyeong-man	National Congress	918,300	100.00
Total			918,300	100.00
Valid votes			918,300	88.13
Invalid/blank votes			123,705	11.87
Total votes			1,042,005	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			1,527,489	68.22
	National Congress hold[1]

North Gyeongsang

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Lee Eui-geun	Grand National	911,728	71.97
	Lee Pan-suk	United Liberal Democrats	355,149	28.03
Total			1,266,877	100.00
Valid votes			1,266,877	97.67
Invalid/blank votes			30,214	2.33
Total votes			1,297,091	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			1,999,195	64.88
	Grand National hold[1]

South Gyeongsang

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Kim Hyuk-kyu	Grand National	939,358	74.65
	Kang Shin-hwa	National Congress	161,703	12.85
	Heo Moon-doh	Independent	157,337	12.50
Total			1,258,398	100.00
Valid votes			1,258,398	97.69
Invalid/blank votes			29,773	2.31
Total votes			1,288,171	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			2,109,058	61.08
	Grand National hold[1]

Jeju

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Woo Geun-min	National Congress	139,695	52.77
	Shin Koo-bum	Independent	81,491	30.78
	Hyun Im-jong	Grand National	43,559	16.45
Total			264,745	100.00
Valid votes			264,745	98.42
Invalid/blank votes			4,239	1.58
Total votes			268,984	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			365,121	73.67
	National Congress gain from Independent[1]

Provincial-level council elections

Summary

Party		Seats
		Constituency	Proportional	Total	+/–
	National Congress for New Politics	271	33	303	New
	Grand National Party	224	29	253	–372
	United Liberal Democrats	82	12	95	+1
	Independent	39	–	39	–112
Total		616	74	690	–280

Constituency seats

Region	Seats	NCNP	GNP	ULD	Ind.
Seoul	94	78	15	1
Busan	44		43	1
Daegu	26		26
Incheon	26	20	4	1	1
Gwangju	14	14
Daejeon	14			14
Ulsan	14		9		5
Gyeonggi	88	61	18	9
Gangwon	42	12	21	3	6
North Chungcheong	24	3		17	4
South Chungcheong	32	1		30	1
North Jeolla	34	32			2
South Jeolla	50	42		1	7
North Gyeongsang	54		44	5	5
South Gyeongsang	46		41		5
Jeju	14	8	3		3
Total	616	271	224	82	39
Source: Council of Local Authorities for International Relations[2]

Proportional representation seats

Region	Seats	NCNP	GNP	ULD
Seoul	10	5	5
Busan	5	2	3
Daegu	3	1	2
Incheon	3	1	1	1
Gwangju	3	2		1
Daejeon	3	1		2
Ulsan	3	1	2
Gyeonggi	9	5	3	1
Gangwon	5	2	2	1
North Chungcheong	3	1		2
South Chungcheong	4	2		2
North Jeolla	4	2	1	1
South Jeolla	5	3	2
North Gyeongsang	6	1	4	1
South Gyeongsang	5	2	3
Jeju	3	2	1
Total	74	33	29	12
Source: Council of Local Authorities for International Relations[2]

Municipal-level mayoral elections

Summary

Party		Seats	+/–
	National Congress for New Politics	84	New
	Grand National Party	74	–80
	United Liberal Democrats	29	+6
	New People's Party	1	New
	Independent	44	–9
Total		232	+2

By region

Region	Mayors	NCNP	GNP	ULD	NPP	Ind.
Seoul	25	19	5	1
Busan	16		11			5
Daegu	8		7			1
Incheon	10	9		1
Gwangju	5	5
Daejeon	5	1		4
Ulsan	5		3			2
Gyeonggi	31	20	6	2		3
Gangwon	18	1	13	2		2
North Chungcheong	11	2		6		3
South Chungcheong	15			11	1	3
North Jeolla	14	9				5
South Jeolla	22	15				7
North Gyeongsang	23	1	14	2		6
South Gyeongsang	20		14			6
Jeju	4	2	1			1
Total	232	84	74	29	1	44
Source: Council of Local Authorities for International Relations[2]

Municipal-level council elections

3,490 seats in municipal-level councils were contested by candidates running as independents.