Song Yong-gil wins 6th Assembly term in Incheon Yeonsu-gap by-election

Democratic Party of Korea candidate Song Yong-gil won the Incheon Yeonsu-gap National Assembly by-election, held Wednesday alongside local elections.

Song's gamble of leaving his longtime political base to contest a new district paid off, as he broke through in the old city center to claim a historic sixth Assembly term.

According to the National Election Commission, Song received 51,823 votes, or 51.73 percent of the total, to secure the seat. People Power Party candidate Park Jong-jin trailed with 38,674 votes, or 38.60 percent.

Jeong Seung-yeon, who had held the district for 12 years under the People Power Party before defecting to the Reform Party after failing to secure the PPP nomination, finished third with 9,677 votes, or 9.66 percent.

Song first won a National Assembly seat in the 16th general election in 2000, before Gyeyang-gu was redistricted, and went on to serve five consecutive terms representing Gyeyang-eul, building a solid political base there.

He also served as Incheon mayor during the fifth elected term from 2010 to 2014. Despite that record, relocating to Yeonsu-gap under the party's strategic nomination was far from an easy decision.

Yeonsu-gap was the stronghold that fellow Democratic Party lawmaker Park Chan-dae had cultivated over three consecutive terms before winning the Incheon mayoral race.

Song's victory appears to have been driven by the combined force of Park's organizational network and Song's own name recognition, giving him a decisive early advantage.

Song now joins the small ranks of six-term senior lawmakers in the National Assembly. His standing within the party and his voice on the national political stage are expected to grow considerably.