Gyeongnam Election Commission Dismisses Tongyeong Mayoral Election and Annulment Petitions ... "No Illegality Found"

The Gyeongnam Election Commission has dismissed the petition filed by Cheon Younggi, former mayor from the People Power Party, challenging both the validity of the election and the results for the Tongyeong mayoral race in the 9th nationwide simultaneous local elections.

On August 10, the Gyeongnam Election Commission posted an announcement regarding its decision on the election petition on its official website, thereby notifying the public of its conclusion.

Chun Youngki, former mayor of Tongyeong, Gyeongnam (far left), is raising an objection to the election commission's decision to prohibit video recording before the re-counting of the mayoral election for Tongyeong at the Gyeongnam Election Commission auditorium.
[Photo by Se-Ryung Lee]

The announcement stated, “As a result of the verification of ballots and other materials conducted on July 27, it has been proven that there was no illegality in the decision to elect Kang Seokju, current mayor of Tongyeong and respondent (from the Democratic Party of Korea), responding to the petition seeking the annulment of the election of the Tongyeong mayor.”

It further stated, “Regarding the petition that sought to annul the Tongyeong mayoral election itself as a precautionary measure, there is no evidence to acknowledge a violation of election-related regulations that could have influenced the outcome of the election.”

The commission added, “Both the primary and subsidiary petitions of the claimant are dismissed,” and specified that “all costs related to the petition shall be borne by the claimant (former mayor Cheon).”

In addition to the petition on the validity of the Tongyeong mayoral election and its results, the Gyeongnam Election Commission also decided to dismiss a total of ten other petitions for annulment of elections or elected status from the 6·3 local elections, involving mayors at the municipal level, members of the metropolitan council, and members of the basic council.

The specific elections include the elections for Gyeongnam Provincial Council members in Gimhae District 3 and District 4, the mayoral races in Geoje, Changwon, and Yangsan, two proportional representation councilor elections in Changwon, council elections in Gimhae District Ma, and Jinju District Ra.

Chun Young-ki, former mayor of Tongyeong, Gyeongnam, and Jeon Han-gil, former Korean history instructor, are observing the re-count of the Tongyeong mayoral election for the 9th nationwide simultaneous local elections being conducted at the Gyeongnam Election Commission.
[Photo by Lee Seryeong]

In the previous Tongyeong mayoral election, three candidates ran, and out of the total 69,693 votes cast, Kang, the Democratic Party candidate, received 33,626 votes, Cheon from the People Power Party received 33,582 votes, and Park Cheongjeong, an independent candidate, received 1,455 votes, resulting in Kang’s victory.

Immediately after the local election ended, former mayor Cheon filed a petition for annulment, citing alleged systemic errors in the ballot sorting machine and mistakes in the criteria for ballot judgment during the counting and verification processes.

In response, the election commission conducted a recount on July 27 and 28, rechecking all 69,693 ballots. The final tally confirmed that Kang Seokju, the incumbent mayor, received 33,626 votes, while Cheon Younggi, the former mayor from the People Power Party, received 33,588 votes.

Of the 1,030 previously invalid ballots, six were recognized as votes for Cheon, narrowing the gap between the two leading candidates to 38 votes, but the outcome of the election remained unchanged.

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