In the Seoul mayoral race, considered the biggest battleground of the June 3 local elections, Democratic Party of Korea candidate Chong Won-o and People Power Party candidate Oh Se-hoon are locked in a final stretch nail-biter. In the early count, Chong led Oh by double digits, but the gap has narrowed to 3.98 percentage points.
According to the National Election Commission on the 4th, as of 3:49 a.m. with 67.89% of ballots counted, Chong had 50.64% of the vote. Oh had 46.66%, a gap of 3.98 percentage points between the two.
In the early stage at 10:30 p.m. on the 3rd (11.48% of ballots counted), Chong posted a vote share of 65.24%. At that time, Oh stood at 32.33%, widening the gap between the two to more than 30 percentage points. As the count moved into the middle stage, the gap between Chong and Oh narrowed to 10 percentage points.
The gap between Chong and Oh has been shrinking since around 2 a.m. as the count rate at some polling stations has risen. In Dongjak District, Yeongdeungpo District, and Songpa District, the count rate is 20% to 30%, below the average.
Earlier, an exit poll released at 6 p.m. on the 3rd by the three regional broadcasters showed Chong at 51.4%, ahead of Oh (46.0%).