2022 South Korean local elections

The 8th local elections were held in South Korea on 1 June 2022. These elections came after the presidential election in March 2022,^[1] and coincided with the by-elections for the vacant seats in the National Assembly. It was the first nationwide election under President Yoon Suk Yeol after taking office on 10 May.

2022 South Korean local elections

← 2018 1 June 2022 2026 →
All 17 metropolitan mayors and governors All 226 municipal mayors All 824 seats for provincial and metropolitan councillors All 2926 seats for municipal councillors
Turnout	50.9% 9.3 pp
First party Second party   Leader Lee Jun-seok Yun Ho-jung & Park Ji-hyun Party People Power Democratic Regional offices 5 governors 7 met. mayors 4 governors 1 met. mayor Regional offices +/– 4 governors 6 met. mayors 3 governors 6 met. mayors Mayors 145 63 Mayors +/– 92 88 Councillors 540 (P) 1,435 (M) 322 (P) 1,384 (M) Councillors +/– 403 (P) 426 (M) 330 (P) 255 (M)   Third party Fourth party   Leader Kim Jae-yeon Yeo Yeong-gug Party Progressive Justice Regional offices 0 governor 0 met. mayor 0 governor 0 met. mayor Regional offices +/– 0 0 Mayors 1 0 Mayors +/– 1 0 Councillors 3 (P) 17 (M) 2 (P) 7 (M) Councillors +/– 3 (P) 6 (M) 9 (P) 19 (M)
Gubernatorial & metropolitan mayoral elections: overall results and turnouts Gubernatorial & metropolitan mayoral elections: municipal-level breakdown

President Yoon Suk Yeol's party, the People Power Party, decisively won the local elections.^[2][3][4][5] The 50.9% turnout is the lowest since 2002.

Process

Citizens born before 2 June 2004 had the right to vote and the right to be elected.

Previous seat composition

	Party	Provincial Governors	Mayors	Provincial Parliament Members	City Councilors
	Democratic	10	152	636	1615
	People Power	4	57	149	1052
	Justice	0	0	11	24
	Minsaeng Party	0	0	6	5
	Progressive	0	0	0	10
	Awakened Civic Solidarity Party	0	0	0	1
	Independents	0	0	14	160
	Vacant	3	0	16	51

Metropolitan city mayors

Seoul

Graphical summary

Results

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Oh Se-hoon	People Power	2,608,277	59.05
	Song Young-gil	Democratic	1,733,183	39.24
	Gwon Su-jeong	Justice	53,840	1.22
	Shin Ji-hye	Basic Income	12,619	0.29
	Kim Gwang-jong	Independent	9,000	0.20
Total			4,416,919	100.00
Valid votes			4,416,919	99.14
Invalid/blank votes			38,242	0.86
Total votes			4,455,161	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			8,378,339	53.17
	People Power hold[6]

Busan

Results

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Park Heong-joon	People Power	938,601	66.37
	Byeon Sung-wan	Democratic	455,901	32.24
	Kim Young-jin	Justice	19,733	1.40
Total			1,414,235	100.00
Valid votes			1,414,235	98.75
Invalid/blank votes			17,959	1.25
Total votes			1,432,194	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			2,916,832	49.10
	People Power hold[6]

Daegu

Results

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Hong Joon-pyo	People Power	685,159	78.75
	Seo Jae-heon	Democratic	156,429	17.98
	Han Min-jeong	Justice	20,904	2.40
	Shin Won-ho	Basic Income	7,542	0.87
Total			870,034	100.00
Valid votes			870,034	98.52
Invalid/blank votes			13,107	1.48
Total votes			883,141	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			2,044,579	43.19
	People Power hold[6]

Incheon

Graphical summary

Results

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Yoo Jung-bok	People Power	634,250	51.77
	Park Nam-choon	Democratic	545,885	44.56
	Lee Jeong-mi	Justice	38,921	3.18
	Kim Han-byeol	Basic Income	6,079	0.50
Total			1,225,135	100.00
Valid votes			1,225,135	98.76
Invalid/blank votes			15,333	1.24
Total votes			1,240,468	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			2,534,338	48.95
	People Power gain from Democratic[6]

Gwangju

Results

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Kang Gi-Jeong	Democratic	334,699	74.92
	Choo Gi-hwan	People Power	71,062	15.91
	Jang Yeon-joo	Justice	21,070	4.72
	Kim Ju-eop	Progressive	16,595	3.71
	Moon Hyeon-cheol	Basic Income	3,344	0.75
Total			446,770	100.00
Valid votes			446,770	98.30
Invalid/blank votes			7,746	1.70
Total votes			454,516	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			1,206,886	37.66
	Democratic hold[6]

Daejeon

Graphical summary

Results

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Lee Jang-woo	People Power	310,035	51.20
	Huh Tae-jeong	Democratic	295,555	48.80
Total			605,590	100.00
Valid votes			605,590	98.85
Invalid/blank votes			7,049	1.15
Total votes			612,639	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			1,233,557	49.66
	People Power gain from Democratic[6]

Ulsan

Results

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Kim Du-gyeom	People Power	290,563	59.79
	Song Cheol-ho	Democratic	195,430	40.21
Total			485,993	100.00
Valid votes			485,993	98.81
Invalid/blank votes			5,873	1.19
Total votes			491,866	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			941,189	52.26
	People Power gain from Democratic[6]

Sejong

Graphical summary

Results

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Choi Min-ho	People Power	78,415	52.84
	Lee Chun-hui	Democratic	69,995	47.16
Total			148,410	100.00
Valid votes			148,410	99.10
Invalid/blank votes			1,341	0.90
Total votes			149,751	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			292,259	51.24
	People Power gain from Democratic[6]

Provincial governors

Gyeonggi

Graphical summary

Polling average

Polling Average
Aggregation Firm	Fieldwork date	Updated date	Kim Dong-yeon	Kim Eun-hye	Hwang Soon-sik	Kang Yong-suk	Others/ Undecided	Lead
Opinion M (Final)	1 Apr 2021 – 25 May 2022	27 May 2022	40.7%	44.6%	(OTH)	4.9%	9.8%	3.9%
2022 Election (Final)	30 Apr 2022 – 25 May 2022	29 May 2022	41%	43%	(OTH)	4%	12%	2%
SkoPolitics (Final)	9 May – 25 May 2022	25 May 2022	41.31%	42.60%	(OTH)	(OTH)	16.09%	1.29%

Results

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Kim Dong-yeon	Democratic	2,827,593	49.07
	Kim Eun-hye	People Power	2,818,680	48.91
	Kang Yong-suk	Independent	54,758	0.95
	Hwang Sun-sik	Justice	38,525	0.67
	Song Young-ju	Progressive	13,939	0.24
	Seo Tae-seong	Basic Income	9,314	0.16
Total			5,762,809	100.00
Valid votes			5,762,809	99.01
Invalid/blank votes			57,822	0.99
Total votes			5,820,631	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			11,497,206	50.63
	Democratic hold[6]

Gangwon

Graphical summary

Results

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Kim Jin-tae	People Power	409,461	54.07
	Lee Gwang-jae	Democratic	347,766	45.93
Total			757,227	100.00
Valid votes			757,227	98.02
Invalid/blank votes			15,271	1.98
Total votes			772,498	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			1,336,080	57.82
	People Power gain from Democratic[6]

North Chungcheong

Graphical summary

Results

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Kim Young-hwan	People Power	395,517	58.19
	Roh Young-min	Democratic	284,166	41.81
Total			679,683	100.00
Valid votes			679,683	98.17
Invalid/blank votes			12,641	1.83
Total votes			692,324	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			1,368,779	50.58
	People Power gain from Democratic[6]

South Chungcheong

Graphical summary

Polling average

Polling Average
Aggregation Firm	Fieldwork date	Updated date	Yang Seung-jo	Kim Tae-heum	Choi Gi-bok	Others/ Undecided	Lead
Opinion M (Final)	1 Apr 2021 – 25 May 2022	27 May 2022	42.7%	45.1%	(OTH)	12.2%	2.4%
2022 Election (Final)	30 Apr 2022 – 25 May 2022	29 May 2022	41%	46%	(OTH)	13%	5%

Results

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Kim Tae-heum	People Power	468,658	53.87
	Yang Seung-jo	Democratic	401,308	46.13
	Choi Gi-bok[a]	Chungcheong's Future [ko]	0	0.00
Total			869,966	100.00
Valid votes			869,966	96.84
Invalid/blank votes			28,403	3.16
Total votes			898,369	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			1,803,096	49.82
	People Power gain from Democratic[6]

North Jeolla

Results

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Kim Gwan-young	Democratic	591,510	82.12
	Cho Bae-suk	People Power	128,828	17.88
Total			720,338	100.00
Valid votes			720,338	96.64
Invalid/blank votes			25,016	3.36
Total votes			745,354	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			1,532,133	48.65
	Democratic hold[6]

South Jeolla

Results

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Kim Young-rok	Democratic	672,433	75.74
	Lee Jeong-hyeon	People Power	167,020	18.81
	Min Jeom-ki	Progressive	48,336	5.44
Total			887,789	100.00
Valid votes			887,789	96.15
Invalid/blank votes			35,558	3.85
Total votes			923,347	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			1,580,098	58.44
	Democratic hold[6]

North Gyeongsang

Results

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Lee Cheol-woo	People Power	904,675	77.96
	Im Mi-ae	Democratic	255,775	22.04
Total			1,160,450	100.00
Valid votes			1,160,450	97.14
Invalid/blank votes			34,145	2.86
Total votes			1,194,595	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			2,268,707	52.66
	People Power hold[6]

South Gyeongsang

Results

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Park Wan-su	People Power	963,473	65.71
	Yang Moon-seok	Democratic	431,569	29.43
	Yeo Yeong-gug	Justice	58,933	4.02
	Choi Jin-seok	United Korea	12,353	0.84
Total			1,466,328	100.00
Valid votes			1,466,328	97.92
Invalid/blank votes			31,072	2.08
Total votes			1,497,400	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			2,804,287	53.40
	People Power gain from Democratic[6]

Jeju

Results

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Oh Young-hun	Democratic	163,116	55.15
	Huh Hyang Jin	People Power	116,786	39.48
	Park Chan-shik	Independent	10,138	3.43
	Bu Soon-jeong	Green	5,750	1.94
Total			295,790	100.00
Valid votes			295,790	98.55
Invalid/blank votes			4,349	1.45
Total votes			300,139	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			565,084	53.11
	Democratic gain from People Power[6]

District, city and county mayors

Distribution of Elected Mayors by Party

  People Power

  Democratic

  Progressive

  Independent

Region	Mayors	People Power	Democratic	Progressive	Independent
Seoul	25	17	8
Busan	16	16
Daegu	8	8
Incheon	10	7	2		1
Gwangju	5		5
Daejeon	5	4	1
Ulsan	5	4		1
Gyeonggi	31	22	9
Gangwon	18	14	4
North Chungcheong	11	7	4
South Chungcheong	15	12	3
North Jeolla	14		11		3
South Jeolla	22		15		7
North Gyeongsang	23	20			3
South Gyeongsang	18	14	1		3
Total	226	145	63	1	17
Source: Yonhap News Agency

Metropolitan city and provincial councilors

Constituency seats

Region	Seats	People Power	Democratic	Progressive	Independent
Seoul[7]	101	70	31
Busan[8]	42	42
Daegu[9]	29	29
Incheon[10]	36	24	12
Gwangju[11]	20		20
Daejeon[12]	19	16	3
Ulsan[13]	19	19
Sejong	18	6	12
Gyeonggi[14]	141	70	71
Gangwon[15]	44	40	4
North Chungcheong[16]	31	26	5
South Chungcheong[17]	43	33	10
North Jeolla[18]	36		35	1
South Jeolla[19]	55		52	2	1
North Gyeongsang[20]	55	52			3
South Gyeongsang[21]	58	56	2
Jeju[22]	32	8	23		1
Total	779	491	280	3	5

Proportional representation seats

Region	Seats	People Power	Democratic	Justice
Seoul[23]	11	6	5
Busan[24]	5	3	2
Daegu[25]	3	2	1
Incheon[26]	4	2	2
Gwangju[27]	3	1	2
Daejeon[28]	3	2	1
Ulsan[29]	3	2	1
Sejong[30]	2	1	1
Gyeonggi[31]	15	8	7
Gangwon[32]	5	3	2
North Chungcheong[33]	4	2	2
South Chungcheong[34]	5	3	2
North Jeolla[35]	4	1	2	1
South Jeolla[36]	6	1	4	1
North Gyeongsang[37]	6	4	2
South Gyeongsang[38]	6	4	2
Jeju[39]	8	4	4
Total	93	49	42	2

Total seats

Region	Seats	People Power	Democratic	Progressive	Justice	Independent
Seoul	112	76	36
Busan	47	45	2
Daegu	32	31	1
Incheon	40	26	14
Gwangju	23	1	22
Daejeon	22	18	4
Ulsan	22	21	1
Sejong	20	7	13
Gyeonggi	156	78	78
Gangwon	49	43	6
North Chungcheong	35	28	7
South Chungcheong	48	36	12
North Jeolla	40	1	37	1	1
South Jeolla	61	1	56	2	1	1
North Gyeongsang	61	56	2			3
South Gyeongsang	64	60	4
Jeju	40	12	27			1
Total	872	540	322	3	2	5

District, city and county councilors

Region	Seats	People Power	Democratic	Progressive	Justice	Independent
Seoul	427	213	212	1		1
Busan	182	104	77			1
Daegu	121	92	28			1
Incheon	123	59	62		1	1
Gwangju	69		57	6	1	5
Daejeon	63	32	31
Ulsan	50	30	18	2
Gyeonggi	463	229	232	1		1
Gangwon	174	101	66		1	6
North Chungcheong	136	79	55	1		1
South Chungcheong	177	95	80			2
North Jeolla	197	3	168	1	1	24
South Jeolla	247	1	193	5	3	45
North Gyeongsang	288	225	25			38
South Gyeongsang	270	172	80			18
Total	2,987	1,435	1,384	17	7	144

Notes

1. Candidate withdrew and endorsed the Democrat