Joy and Sorrow Divided by Just One Vote... Dramatic Victory After Recount

11,592 to 11,592: A Tie

Fates Decided After Recount

Three Partially Marked Ballots Deemed Valid... Outcome Determined by One Vote

In the Chungnam Nonsan District 1 provincial council election of the 6·3 local elections, Ki Ho-yeop, the Democratic Party candidate, dramatically won by a single vote against Yoon Ki-hyung, the People Power Party candidate. Immediately after the vote count, both candidates were tied, but the winner was decided after a recount.

In the Chungnam Nonsan District 1 provincial council election, Ki Ho-yeop, the Democratic Party candidate, dramatically won by a single vote against Yoon Ki-hyung, the People Power Party candidate. Naver Candidate Page

According to the Nonsan City Election Commission on June 4, in the 9th Nationwide Local Elections for the Chungnam Provincial Councilor representing Nonsan District 1, candidate Ki received 11,594 votes (50.00%), defeating candidate Yoon, who received 11,593 votes (49.99%). The winner was determined by a margin of just one vote.

During the ballot count, both candidates initially recorded an unusual tie at 11,592 votes each. As a result, the Election Commission withheld the confirmation of the winner and proceeded with a recount.

After manually reviewing the classification of invalid ballots and checking for mixed ballots (ballots mistakenly counted for another candidate), the Election Commission confirmed that candidate Ki won by a single vote. During the recount, it was found that among previously invalid ballots, two were counted as valid for Ki and one as valid for Yoon.

The Election Commission explained that all three ballots reclassified as valid were "partially marked ballots." A partially marked ballot refers to one where the seal does not fully appear within the designated area, but as long as the voter's intention is clear—such as when the mark distinctly indicates a specific candidate—even a partial mark is accepted as valid.

With these 3 ballots verified as valid, out of the total 23,962 ballots cast, 775 were invalid, and 14,125 voters abstained, according to the final tally.

According to Article 190 of the Public Official Election Act, if two or more basic or metropolitan council candidates receive the same number of votes, the older candidate is declared the winner. For example, in the 8th Nationwide Local Elections in 2022, when Democratic Party candidates Kim Kang-jeong (age 60) and Kim Myung-seon (age 44) both received 1,476 votes in the Naju City basic council 'Ma' district (Innovation City·Bitgaram-dong), and a recount still resulted in a tie, the 16-year-older candidate, Kim Kang-jeong, was declared the winner.

According to candidate registration information, the winner, Ki, is 67 years old, while candidate Yoon is 64. Ki holds a Ph.D. in Education from Kongju National University Graduate School and previously served as principal of Ganggyeong Commercial High School. He is currently an adjunct professor at Joongbu University.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.