In the June 3 local elections, Democratic Party of Korea Daejeon mayoral candidate Heo Tae-jung defeated incumbent mayor Lee Jang-woo of the People Power Party and won. Heo, who served as the Daejeon mayor in the seventh popularly elected term, prevailed in the rematch between a former and a sitting mayor with 53.48% of the vote, beating Lee, who finished at 44.15%, and achieved a "stepping-stone second term."
Heo won in all five autonomous districts, including Dong-gu in Daejeon, considered Lee's political stronghold. It is a measure of revenge four years after he narrowly lost to Lee in the 2022 local elections.
Born in 1965 in Yesan, South Chungcheong Province, Heo graduated from Chungnam National University. Under the Roh Moo-hyun administration, he served in the presidential office as a personnel affairs officer and a social affairs officer, and also worked as a policy aide to the Minister of Science and Technology.
In the 2010 local elections, he entered elected politics by winning the Yuseong District mayoral race as a Democratic Party candidate. After winning a second term in 2014, he ran for and won the Daejeon mayoral election in 2018. In 2022, he sought a second term but lost to Lee, and in this election he returned to the Daejeon mayor's office.
During the campaign, it also became known that he voluntarily returned his disability certificate. Heo is known to have lost his right big toe while working at a construction site in the past.
In his victory remarks, Heo said, "This election is a stern judgment on the insurrectionary forces that plunged Korea into crisis and a warning against politics that do not look to the people," adding, "I will not forget the meaning and value of your choice and will devote myself to Daejeon's development."