Cho Kyeong-tae of the main opposition Democratic United Party secured a milestone third win in the traditionally conservative Busan.

Early returns and exit polls showed Cho leading Saenuri Party candidate Ahn Joon-tae by 13.0 percentage points with 56.5 percent of the vote in Busan’s Saha-B constituency.

Cho’s three consecutive wins are expected to reinforce DUP’s leverage in the region together with Moon Jae-in, DUP’s aspiring presidential hopeful who gained the upper hand in the Sasang constituency of Busan.

Cho had been the voters’ favorite in earlier polls for what his supporters described as an “ability to live up to his pledges” centered on development projects closely related to citizens. He won his first National Assembly seat in 2004 when the Uri Party, the precursor to the DUP, grabbed a majority of seats.

His key projects include extending Busan’s subway line No. 1, creating an eco-friendly park in Dadae beach, designating Jangrim as a natural disaster zone and modernizing Shinpyeong market. Most of these were projects deadlocked until Cho came to the constituency, reports said.

“I can feel the strong walls of regionalism collapsing gradually as I continue my long years of service here,” Cho said in an earlier media interview.

Cho, 44, is a born-and-raised native of the port city. He graduated from Pusan National University Graduate School of Industry with a civil engineering major.

By Lee Joo-hee (jhl@heraldcorp.com)