Recount confirms Lee Dong-seok's victory in Chungju mayor race

A recount of ballots from the June 3 local elections for Chungju mayor in North Chungcheong Province has confirmed the victory of People Power Party incumbent Lee Dong-seok.

The North Chungcheong Province National Election Commission conducted the recount Wednesday at the multipurpose auditorium of Korea National University of Transportation, manually reviewing more than 108,000 ballots, including some 2,000 invalid votes.

As a result, Democratic Party of Korea candidate Maeng Jeong-seop received 52,839 votes and Mayor Lee received 52,961 votes, reconfirming Lee as the winner.

The original margin between the two candidates had been 124 votes, but the recount narrowed it to 122. Two ballots initially counted as valid votes for Lee were ruled invalid on recount, but one ballot previously classified as a vote for Maeng was recovered for Lee, leaving him with a net loss of just one vote.

"Minor discrepancies in invalid-ballot determinations can arise depending on the expertise of counting staff and conditions at the scene," an election commission official said. "A small fluctuation of this magnitude is something that can normally occur during the counting process and is not a meaningful figure."

The recount was triggered by Maeng's petition to nullify Lee's election. It involved manually reviewing more than 108,000 ballots, including 2,277 invalid votes.

Disputes over invalid ballots during the process delayed the results beyond the initially expected 6 p.m. finish. Based on the recount results, the election commission is expected to dismiss Maeng's petition to nullify the Chungju mayoral election.