The Justice and Innovation Party produces its first local government head with victory in the Damyang County mayoral by-election.

In the by-election for the Damyang County mayor on April 2 in Jeollanam-do, Jeong Cheol-won, the candidate of the Justice and Innovation Party, emerged victorious, marking the first local government head for the party.

According to the results announced by the National Election Commission on the 2nd, the elected candidate received 12,860 votes (51.82%), surpassing the Democratic Party's candidate Lee Jae-jong, who received 11,956 votes (48.17%) by a margin of 904 votes.

Jeong, a native of Geumsong-myeon in Damyang County and a current chairperson of the Damyang County Council, previously served as a three-term county councilor. He left the Democratic Party during the last local elections to run as an independent before joining the Justice and Innovation Party in February this year.

The Damyang mayoral by-election has signified a shift in the political landscape of Honam.

Expressing his gratitude in a speech after the election, Jeong stated, "The wise choice of the people of Damyang has made me the first local government head of the Justice and Innovation Party," adding, "Damyang will be at the center of the change in Honam politics and the transformation of politics in the Republic of Korea."

He also expressed his thanks for the opportunity to serve the people of Damyang as a politician from an underprivileged background, promising to lay the groundwork for "a more honest, thorough, and principled" development of Damyang for the future of the millennium.

In this by-election in the Jeonnam region, Lee Don-gyeon from the Democratic Party won in the second district of Gwangyang City, while independent candidate Kim Jae-yeol emerged victorious in the first district of Goheung County.

In the by-election for the Damyang County Council in the first district, the sole candidate, Democratic Party's Noh Dae-hyun, was elected without a vote.

The results of the Damyang mayoral by-election hold significant importance for the Justice and Innovation Party. Having recorded 25% and 35% vote shares respectively in last year's by-elections for the mayors of Yeonggwang and Gokseong in Jeollanam-do, the party has succeeded in electing its first local government head with a majority vote on its third attempt.

This is also being regarded as evidence of a shift in the Democratic Party's stronghold in the Honam region.

Image source: News1