2021 South Korean by-elections

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The 2021 South Korean by-elections were held in South Korea on 7 April 2021.[1] The National Election Commission announced on 2 March 2021, that the by-elections would be held for 21 public offices or electoral districts, including 2 Metropolitan mayors, 2 Municipal mayors, 8 Metropolitan Council constituencies, and 9 Municipal Council constituencies.[1] Candidate registration ran from 18 to 19 March, and the list of candidates was confirmed on 26 March.[2]

Voters in the by-elections were able to access early voting from 06:00–18:00 KST on 2 and 3 April.[2] One early voting place was established for each district or county of the region where the re-election was conducted, and voters could vote at any pre-voting place in the district where the re-election was conducted, regardless of their address.[2] But on election day, voters had to vote at their designated polling place, and the voting time was from 6 a.m. to 8 pm.[2]

The election concluded with the mayors of Seoul and Busan, which are the largest city and the second-largest city in South Korea, respectively, being selected via by-election.[3] The two major political parties, the Democratic Party and the People Power Party, were concentrating on these by-elections, as they believed that the outcome would have a great impact on the 2022 presidential election.[3] The Democratic Party's candidate Park Young-sun, endorsed by Kim Jinai (Open Democratic Party) and Cho Jung-hun (Transition Korea), became the unity candidate of the ruling coalition.[4] For the opposition, the People Power Party's Oh Se-hoon became the unity candidate, endorsed by Ahn Cheol-soo (People Party) and Keum Tae-seop (Independent).[5]

  1. ^ a b 공, 보과 (2 March 2021). "4. 7. 재·보궐선거, 서울·부산시장 등 총 21곳 확정". National Election Commission. Archived from the original on 7 March 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d 임, 명현 (2 March 2021). "4·7재보선, 서울·부산 등 21곳 확정...사전투표는 4월 2~3일". Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (in Korean).
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :10 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :15 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference :16 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).