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[Herald Economy=Senior Reporter Park Jong-il] The main vote in the June 3 local elections is now one day away.<\/p>\nTranslation result [Herald Economy=Senior Reporter Park Jong-il] The main vote in the June 3 local elections is now one day away.<\/p>\n
Early voting for this election was hotter than expected. Seoul\u2019s early voting rate reached 23.84%, suggesting turnout on election day could also be substantial.<\/p>\n
Looking at the Seoul mayoral race in numbers makes clear how much weight each citizen\u2019s vote carries.<\/p>\n
Seoul\u2019s population is about 9.4 million, with roughly 8.3 million eligible voters. The city\u2019s annual budget exceeds 51 trillion KRW (about $38.25 billion). By a simple calculation, the mayor will oversee a four-year budget that easily surpasses 200 trillion KRW (about $150 billion).<\/p>\n
Dividing that total by the number of eligible voters gives each vote in the Seoul mayoral contest a notional value of roughly 24 million KRW (about $18,000). Even on an annual-budget basis, one vote represents more than 6 million KRW (about $4,500).<\/p>\n
While this is a straightforward arithmetic division, it underscores the scale of the mayor\u2019s powers and responsibilities.<\/p>\n
Seoul is South Korea\u2019s capital and its political, economic, and cultural center. With an annual budget above 50 trillion KRW (about $37.5 billion) and responsibility for the lives of some 9 million residents, the Seoul mayor is effectively the country\u2019s most influential local government leader.<\/p>\n
The candidates are Jeong Won-oh of the Democratic Party, Oh Se-hoon of the People Power Party, Kim Jeong-cheol of the Reform New Party, and Kwon Young-guk of the Justice Party.<\/p>\n
In practice, the contest has narrowed to a two-way race between Democratic candidate Jeong Won-oh and People Power candidate Oh Se-hoon.<\/p>\n
Jeong, a three-term mayor of Seongdong District, is emphasizing his local administrative experience. Oh, drawing on his prior tenure as Seoul mayor, is arguing for stronger global competitiveness and urban innovation to win voter support.<\/p>\n
The four candidates met for the first\u2014and only\u2014joint TV debate on May 28, clashing over policy priorities, campaign pledges, and administrative competence.<\/p>\n
Many observers say a single debate was insufficient to fully vet the candidates\u2019 platforms and qualifications.<\/p>\n
As a result, voters likely synthesized information from other debates, campaign materials, media coverage, and rallies to assess the candidates\u2019 abilities, integrity, and policy vision.<\/p>\n
Now the decision rests with the citizens.<\/p>\n
Elections are democracy\u2019s defining act. Each vote will help determine Seoul\u2019s direction for the next four years.<\/p>\n
Polls showed an ultra-tight race, making a one-sided outcome hard to predict. Turnout \u2014 which side can bring its supporters to the polls \u2014 is likely to be the decisive factor.<\/p>\n
A senior official in one Seoul district said, \u201cAt this point, most voters have probably already made up their minds. We\u2019ll only know who will lead Seoul for the next four years after the ballots are counted.\u201d<\/p>\n
Candidates for Seoul mayor and for the 25 district mayor posts will campaign until midnight, mounting a final push for every remaining vote.<\/p>\n
Seoul residents\u2019 votes will shape the city\u2019s future for the next four years.<\/p>\n
One vote is not insignificant. A single vote in the Seoul mayoral race is worth more than 24 million KRW (about $18,000).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The upcoming local elections in Seoul highlight the significant value of each vote, estimated at around 24 million KRW, emphasizing voter impact.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/cdn-union.tenbizt.com\/contents\/crawler-dev\/thumbnail\/2026\/06\/CP-2023-0083\/thumb-7abbb09b-46ae-4b08-b9ec-9f4b00883585.jpg","footnotes":""},"categories":[278093],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-263357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\n