In the June 3 local elections for South Gyeongsang governor, Park Wan-su of the People Power Party was projected to be certain to win. The result differed from the exit polls by the three major broadcasters, which had expected Kim Kyeong-soo of the Democratic Party of Korea to lead by 8.6 percentage points (p).
Park said, "I am truly grateful to everyone who joined us here today, and Kim Kyeong-soo also worked very hard," adding, "I will incorporate the good policies proposed by Kim into the provincial administration."
According to the National Election Commission, as of 9:18 a.m. that day, with 97.88% of the votes counted in the South Gyeongsang governor race, Park was at 51.43%, ahead of Kim at 48.56%.
Kim also issued a statement saying, "I am sorry for failing to meet the support and expectations so many people sent. It is all due to my shortcomings," and added, "Congratulations to Park Wan-su on the victory. I ask that you skillfully navigate the difficult reality of our South Gyeongsang."
She continued, "Although we lost the election, we cannot give up on the dream of a country where people live well evenly everywhere nationwide and of balanced regional development," and said, "I earnestly ask Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang to join forces and take the lead in region-led growth."