In the June 3 local elections, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea also struggled in the election of heads of local governments in the southern Gyeonggi-do belt, in addition to the traditional rough areas of Gangnam. In the areas known as the so-called "comprehensive real estate tax" belt, real estate regulations and tax issues are analyzed to have acted as decisive variables that determine votes.
According to the results of the vote on the 4th, a large number of candidates for the People's Power were elected in the elections for the heads of local governments in major battleground areas such as Yongsan, Gwangjin, and Yangcheon, as well as the four Gangnam districts (Gangnam, Seocho, Songpa, and Gangdong-gu) in Seoul. In addition, key areas in southern Gyeonggi Province, including Seongnam, Yongin, Hanam, Uiwang, and Gwacheon, also produced heads of local governments belonging to the People's Power.
Political circles point out that it is more painful for the ruling party in that all active lawmakers in the region are members of the Democratic Party, except for Seongnam Bundang. If this trend continues, ruling party lawmakers may have difficulty protecting their constituencies in the general elections to be held two years later.
Regarding the defeat in the region, politicians say it is the aftermath of the "October 15 Real Estate Measures" released by the Lee Jae-myung government last year. The 10/15 measures, which implemented the Lee Jae-myung government's high-intensity loan regulation, include expanding and designating all of Seoul and 12 regions in Gyeonggi Province as land transaction permits. Seongnam, Yongin, Hanam, and Uiwang were all grouped into regulated areas last year and received strong opposition. An official from the Democratic Party of Korea in the region said, "The government's intention to tighten the purse strings and raise housing prices was accepted by residents as a "kicking ladder" to form assets."
In addition to loan regulations, there are internal voices that the "excessive tax burden" is one of the losers. This is because the "Han River Belt" has a learning effect, which was turned around due to the votes of the comprehensive real estate tax during the 2022 presidential election, but the government failed to control the concerns over the tax burden again in this election. According to the declared price of apartment houses in 2026, 487,362 households across the country exceeded the declared value of 1.2 billion won (based on one household and one householder), which is subject to comprehensive real estate tax. This is a surge of 53.3% (169,364 households) compared to last year (317,998 households). Criticism is raised that the ruling party has failed to manage policies to appease public sentiment at a time when the tax burden on voters is becoming a reality in line with the rise in declared prices. Kim Ji-ho, a former spokesman for the Democratic Party of Korea, said, "There was a lot of public sentiment on the floor that the burden of property taxes increased due to a lot of declared land prices, but measures for this issue were not seen well by the central party ahead of this election."
The tax backlash was proven by votes. In Garak 1-dong, where "Helio City" is located in Songpa-gu, an expensive apartment complex, Oh Se-hoon, the candidate for Seoul Mayor, won 63.9% of the votes, driving the opposition party. "It was not just that the real estate price went up, but that he hit the comprehensive real estate tax bomb to set the price," a ruling party official said. "President Lee Jae-myung, who said he would not catch real estate with taxes, changed the tone of the press conference in January to a turning point and sent a message on real estate regulation on social media every day, which stimulated angry public sentiment."
Reporter Choi Hyung-chang [email protected]
The problem doesn’t seem to be real estate itself, but rather the attitude of the media.
In fact, issues like the loudspeaker noise broadcasts from North Korea affecting northern Gyeonggi were addressed, and various policy supports were provided, yet the election results remained the same.
This suggests that the problem lies not with the policies, but with local party organizations or the way the media responds.
The current media landscape is heavily skewed in favor of forces associated with insurrection, which is a serious issue.
Moreover, compared to previous elections, the Democratic Party’s campaign this time was clearly lacking.
Compared to when President Lee Jae-myung was party leader, the campaign effort was extremely poor.
In particular, they nominated a candidate unsuitable for Seoul mayor and failed to properly promote that candidate in the media.
With the kind of leadership we see now, winning elections in such an uneven playing field will be even more difficult.
If they are not willing to give their all with the sense of being pushed to the brink, then there is no reason for them to remain in their positions.
