Chong Won-o, former three-term district chief of Seongdong-gu in Seoul, was confirmed Thursday as the ruling Democratic Party of Korea's candidate for the Seoul mayoral race in the upcoming June local election.
According to the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, Chong, 57, won more than 50 percent of the vote in the three-way race from Tuesday to Thursday.
In other words, Chong earned more votes than the two other candidates -- Reps. Park Ju-min and Jeon Hyun-heui -- combined. Otherwise, the two leading contenders would have gone through an extra round of intraparty election next week.
The party did not disclose how many votes each candidate earned.
Following the announcement, Chong said on Facebook that incumbent conservative Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon "must face consequences for his incapacity during his decadelong tenure," and therefore it is crucial for the liberal party to win the election.
Thursday's victory in the contest came despite a series of controversies surrounding the liberal candidate.
Chong has been under fire for having one of his subordinates, who got promoted faster than her coworkers, accompany him on his three-day trip to Cancun, Mexico.
Chong was also accused of having violated the Public Official Election Act as his campaign team had allegedly distorted a poll result to exaggerate Chong's lead in the race.
Chong has been considered a frontrunner among liberal Seoul mayoral hopefuls since President Lee Jae Myung's X post in December that was widely perceived as a de facto endorsement of Chong. Sharing a news article about Seongdong-gu residents' satisfaction level, the liberal president said Chong "must be good at his job."
consnow@heraldcorp.com
