![Park Jong-won, the Democratic Party of Korea's candidate for Damyang-gun county chief in South Jeolla Province, cheers at his campaign office on the afternoon of June 3 after projections showed him winning the race. [Provided by Park Jong-won campaign. Redistribution and DB prohibited]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/06/04/rcv.YNA.20260604.PYH2026060400310005400_P1.jpg)
Park Jong-won of the Democratic Party of Korea won the Damyang-gun county chief race in South Jeolla Province in the June 3 local elections.
Park secured 55.5 percent of the vote, defeating incumbent county chief Jeong Cheol-won of the Rebuilding Korea Party, according to vote tallies released by the National Election Commission on Thursday.
The race drew attention as a test of whether the Rebuilding Korea Party's first-ever incumbent local chief in the Democratic Party's stronghold of South Jeolla Province could win reelection, or whether the Democratic Party would reclaim the post.
Park's victory allowed the Democratic Party to take back the Damyang-gun county chief seat it had lost to the Rebuilding Korea Party in a previous by-election.
During the campaign, Park said change in county governance and stable regional development centered on the Democratic Party were his priorities.
He highlighted key local issues including strengthening agricultural competitiveness, boosting tourism, reviving the local economy and expanding everyday infrastructure, framing his candidacy around the need for a change in county leadership.
"This is a victory for all residents of Damyang who chose change and a new leap forward," Park said. He pledged to become "Damyang's No. 1 sales representative" — actively lobbying the National Assembly and the central government — to usher in an era of 1 trillion won ($660 million) in annual budgets and to firmly implement a basic income program for rural residents.
sij@heraldcorp.com
