Democratic Party Dominates Jeonbuk Provincial Council in 6.3 Local Elections

The Democratic Party has effectively secured control of the 13th Jeonbuk Provincial Council, which will be newly formed through the 6.3 local elections.

This marks a reenactment of the 'sweep of the provincial council' that became apparent in the previous local elections.

According to the vote counting status of the National Election Commission on the 4th, the Democratic Party swept all 38 district seats in the Jeonbuk Provincial Council in this election.

Furthermore, 25 out of the 38 seats were won without a vote, with candidates being elected unopposed.

All unopposed candidates are from the Democratic Party.

The Democratic Party secured not only district seats but also 4 out of 6 proportional representative seats, taking 42 out of a total of 44 seats.

The remaining 2 seats are expected to be allocated to the People Power Party and the Party for National Revolution.

In the 2022 local elections, the Democratic Party won 37 out of 40 seats (including proportional representation), and in 2018, they won 36 out of 40 seats.

Despite appeals from various parties, including the People Power Party, the Party for National Revolution, the Justice Party, and the Progressive Party, urging voters to 'stop the Democratic Party's one-party dominance in Honam,' the voters of Jeonbuk once again overwhelmingly supported Democratic Party candidates.

For Democratic Party candidate Lee Won-taek, this means securing the momentum to stably implement provincial administration while maintaining smooth cooperation with a provincial council composed entirely of Democratic Party members.

On the other hand, as parties other than the Democratic Party have expressed concerns, there are also considerable worries about whether the executive branch of the provincial government will be properly checked and balanced due to the Democratic Party's decades-long monopoly structure.

A source in the local political scene stated, 'It seems that the close relationship between the Democratic Party governor and Democratic Party provincial council members will be maintained as before during the 9th popularly elected term.' He added, 'While this structure has the positive effect of enabling rapid policy implementation, it is true that questions arise about whether the council's inherent function of monitoring and checking administrative affairs can be properly performed.'