South Korea's Lee wins mandate for diplomatic continuity in local elections
South Korea's Democratic Party, led by President Lee Jae-myung, won 13 of the country's 17 governorships and metropolitan mayoralties in local elections. The result indicates strong domestic backing for Mr Lee's call to rebalance relations with China and Japan.
Nikkei Asia · Staff WriterVote counting completed late on Tuesday showed that South Korea's ruling Democratic Party had won 13 of the country's 17 metropolitan and provincial leadership positions. President Lee Jae-myung's party added four seats to the nine it held previously; Seoul, Busan and Incheon metropolitan cities all went to the Democrats. The opposition People Power Party retained local power in four provinces.
In a statement on Wednesday, Mr Lee described the result as 'a mandate for domestic stability and continuity in foreign policy'. The president had visited Beijing the previous month and Tokyo weeks before that, putting the idea of a three-country economic corridor on the agenda. Speaking to Nikkei, Sogang University professor Lee Jung-min said: 'The results show Asian regional diplomacy is gaining weight under the pressure of Trump-era tariffs.'
Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said the supplementary budget to be tabled in the National Assembly would prioritise 'the social safety net and industrial policy for artificial intelligence'. In coming weeks the government is expected to send a delegation to Beijing to discuss a 'smart cooperation' formula in semiconductors with China. Technical talks with Tokyo are running in parallel on fisheries and a minerals agreement. The Lee Han-jun budget committee will vote on the supplementary package by the end of June.
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