Seoul: The ruling Democratic Party (DP) is projected to win at least 10 of the 16 key races in Wednesday's local elections, exit polls by major broadcasters have indicated, potentially marking a significant victory for the Lee Jae Myung administration as it enters its second year in office.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the DP is anticipated to secure 10 of the metropolitan mayoral and gubernatorial posts, based on a JTBC exit poll. A separate exit poll conducted by KBS, MBC, and SBS suggests the DP might win 11 key races. Both polls indicate that the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) is expected to capture only one post, with four to five races remaining too close to call.

The elections are pivotal, with 16 mayoral and gubernatorial posts and 16 education superintendent seats at stake, alongside 227 local government leadership positions and approximately 4,000 local council seats. In a significant contest, Chong Won-o of the DP is projected to win the Seoul mayoral race with 53.5 percent of the vote, surpassing the incumbent Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon of the PPP, who garnered 42.9 percent, as per the JTBC exit poll.

In Busan, the JTBC poll shows DP candidate Jeon Jae-soo leading with 53.9 percent against the PPP's Park Heong-joon. As the elections coincide with the one-year anniversary of the Lee administration's tenure, a decisive win for the ruling party would likely reinforce the government's authority to advance its reform agenda.

Simultaneously, 14 National Assembly seats were contested in parliamentary by-elections. Exit polls were conducted in two battlegrounds: Busan's Buk-A constituency and the Pyeongtaek-B constituency. The JTBC exit poll forecasts former PPP leader Han Dong-hoon winning the Buk-A seat with 48.1 percent, while the KBS-MBC-SBS poll suggests a win for the DP's Ha Jung-woo with 42.6 percent.

In Pyeongtaek, the KBS-MBC-SBS exit poll predicts Cho Kuk, leader of the Rebuilding Korea Party, to narrowly win with 31.1 percent, edging past Yu Eui-dong of the PPP and Kim Yong-nam of the DP. Contrarily, the JTBC poll projects a victory for the DP's Kim with 34.2 percent, ahead of Cho's 31.6 percent.