Tongyeong mayoral race pending re‑count after 44‑vote margin

South Korea’s local elections on June 3 saw the mayoral contest in Tongyeong city decided by a razor‑thin margin of 44 votes. Incumbent‑backed Democratic candidate Kang Seok‑ju was declared the winner over former mayor Cheon Young‑gi of the People Power Party, with 33,626 votes to Cheon’s 33,582. A formal election petition filed by Cheon triggered a full manual re‑examination of all 69,693 ballots, scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. on June 27.

The re‑count will be overseen by the Gyeongsangnam‑do Election Commission, with representatives from both campaigns present. Results are expected by early evening, but any disputes could delay the announcement. If the recount flips the tally, Cheon’s petition to invalidate the original result would likely be upheld, potentially installing him as mayor. The cost of the re‑count, 19.22 million won, is being borne by Cheon, who raised the challenge over alleged voting‑machine errors.