Korean Ruling Party’s Defeat in Seoul Mayoral Election

From Yonhap:

The ruling party's bruising defeat in Wednesday's by-election for Seoul mayor represents yet another blow to the unpopular party, a setback to its leading presidential contender and, more broadly, a punishment of the existing political establishment, analysts said.

With nearly all ballots counted, opposition-backed candidate Park Won-soon, a lawyer-turned-activist, defeated his rival Na Kyung-won of the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) to win the mayoralty with 53.3 percent of the vote against Na's 46.3 percent.

Though technically a small regional election, Wednesday's vote was considered a crucial test of voter sentiment ahead of next year's two big polls -- the parliamentary elections in April and the presidential vote in December. It will be the first time in 20 years that the two major elections happen in the same year.

The mayoral race was also closely watched as a test of whether GNP's leading presidential contender Park Geun-hye would be able to keep her previously near-unchallenged lead, now that prominent computer software entrepreneur Ahn Cheol-soo has emerged as a possible strong challenger to her in recent months.

Analysts and media dubbed this week's election a "proxy battle" between the two, as Park Geun-hye campaigned on behalf of her party's candidate Na -- an unusual move that breaks away from her usual hands-off approach to party affairs -- and Ahn gave up his mayoral bid to give way for Park Won-soon.

Ahn, a former medical doctor, gained fame in the 1990s after establishing South Korea's No. 1 anti-virus software firm. He is widely popular, especially among young Koreans, due largely to his clean and upright image.

After Ahn suggested he might run for Seoul mayor, he immediately took an unrivaled lead in opinion polls. But Ahn later decided not to run, saying he would instead back Park Won-soon. Even after he withdrew his mayoral bid, Ahn remained hugely popular.

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2011/10/27/13/0301000000AEN20111027000100315F.HTML