Seoul: Incumbent Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon of the People Power Party (PPP) has successfully secured his fifth term in office, narrowly defeating Democratic Party (DP) candidate Chong Won-o. The closely contested mayoral race was decided in the final stages of ballot counting.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Oh was declared the winner shortly after 10 a.m. with 97.92 percent of the ballots counted. The final tally showed Oh receiving 48.95 percent of the votes, while Chong garnered 48.33 percent, as reported by the National Election Commission. Chong conceded his defeat around 9:30 a.m., acknowledging the tight nature of the race.

Throughout most of the ballot counting, Chong had maintained a slim lead. However, the tide turned in favor of Oh at 7:18 a.m., when he pulled ahead for the first time. From that point, the gap between the two candidates widened to over 30,000 votes. In his concession speech, Chong expressed his acceptance of the electoral outcome, stating, "I congratulate Candidate Oh Se-hoon for his victory. I accept the choice of the citizens with a heavy and humble heart."

The mayoral race was part of the nationwide local elections held on June 3, exactly one year after President Lee Jae Myung's administration took office on June 4. Despite surveys conducted prior to the elections indicating that Chong was outpacing the incumbent mayor, Oh's victory secured his third consecutive and fifth non-consecutive term as the mayor of Seoul.