Democratic Party of Korea candidate Min Hyung-bae has been elected the inaugural mayor of the integrated Jeonnam-Gwangju Special City.
According to the National Election Commission's election statistics system, Min won Wednesday's 9th nationwide local elections with 79.01 percent of the vote. People Power Party candidate Lee Jeong-hyeon finished second with 11.68 percent, followed by Justice Party candidate Kang Eun-mi at 3.85 percent, Progressive Party candidate Lee Jong-uk at 3.71 percent, and independent candidate Kim Gwang-man at 1.73 percent.
Speaking immediately after his victory was confirmed, Min said: "I have been entrusted with the weighty responsibility of serving as mayor of the integrated Jeonnam-Gwangju Special City. I bow my head in deep appreciation. I will carry the weight of your choice seriously. We have faced social discrimination, economic exploitation and political bloodshed. South Jeolla Province and Gwangju must become one and open a new future together."
He added: "We now stand at the door of the first and only integrated special city in the Republic of Korea. The time has come for South Jeolla and Gwangju to unite and rise as a new engine of national growth. I will open this new path together with you, the citizens, and Jeonnam-Gwangju will be the first to prove that a region can lead its own growth."
sij@heraldcorp.com
