As vote counting for governors and mayors in 16 metropolitan regions in the 9th nationwide local elections proceeded on the 3rd, the Democratic Party of Korea held an early lead in 14 areas including Seoul. The regions where the People Power Party showed strength were its strongholds, North Gyeongsang and South Gyeongsang.
According to the National Election Commission, as of 9:30 p.m. on the 3rd, 8.41% of ballots had been counted nationwide. In the Seoul mayoral race, Democratic Party candidate Chong Won-o led with 64.69%, ahead of People Power Party candidate Oh Se-hoon (32.99%) by 31.7 percentage points (p).
Democratic Party candidates Park Chan-dae for Incheon mayor (55.44%), Min Hyung-bae for Gwangju mayor in South Jeolla (81.72%), Heo Tae-jung for Daejeon mayor (52.78%), Kim Sang-uk for Ulsan mayor (55.71%), Cho Sang-ho for Sejong mayor (54.42%), Choo Mi-ae for Gyeonggi governor (49.73%), Shin Yong-han for North Chungcheong governor (53.36%), Park Soo-hyun for South Chungcheong governor (57.18%), and Wi Seong-gon for Jeju governor (60.04%), among others, were also outpacing People Power Party candidates by substantial margins.
In Gangwon, Daegu, Busan and North Jeolla—classified as battlegrounds by the three terrestrial broadcasters' exit polls—Democratic Party candidates were ahead. Woo Sang-ho, the Democratic Party candidate for Gangwon governor, led with 54.91%, ahead of People Power Party candidate Kim Jin-tae (45.08%) by 9.83 percentage points. Kim Boo-kyum, the Democratic Party candidate for Daegu mayor, had 54.63%, leading People Power Party candidate Choo Kyung-ho (44.33%) by 10.3 percentage points.
In the Busan mayoral race, Democratic Party candidate Chun Jae-soo (52.25%) and People Power Party candidate Park Heong-joon (46.25%) had a 6 percentage-point gap. In the North Jeolla governor race, Democratic Party candidate Lee Won-taek (52.56%) led independent candidate Kim Kwan-young (41.16%) by 11.4 percentage points.
For the People Power Party, Lee Cheol-woo, the North Gyeongsang governor candidate, was maintaining the lead with 66.02%, and Park Wan-su, the South Gyeongsang governor candidate, with 51.14%. Democratic Party candidates Oh Joong-gi for North Gyeongsang governor had 33.97%, and Kim Kyeong-soo for South Gyeongsang governor had 48.85%.