Choo Kyung-ho wins Daegu mayor race, keeps city in conservative hands

Choo Kyung-ho of the People Power Party won the Daegu mayoral election Wednesday with 53.82% of the vote, defeating Democratic Party of Korea candidate Kim Boo-kyum and keeping the city in conservative hands, The Korea Times reported.

The final margin defied pre-election polls that had shown a tight contest, giving the People Power Party a critical hold and leaving Daegu one of the few cities the party retained in South Korea's local elections.

A joint exit poll by KBS, MBC and SBS on election night had projected the race at 49.9% to 49.1% in Choo's favor — a margin well within statistical uncertainty. The final tally gave Choo more than eight percentage points over Kim Boo-kyum, according to The Korea Times.

Choo, a three-term lawmaker and former deputy prime minister of economy and finance, cast the result as a show of public confidence. "I would like to thank the citizens of Daegu for their tremendous support and choice," he said in his opening statement following the result.

He pledged concrete action over political symbolism. "I will never forget the trust voters have placed in me, and I will repay it with tangible results," Choo said.

Reaching out to voters who backed his opponent, Choo called for unity. "I will respect not only those who supported me but also those who chose another candidate," he said. "I will work to bring everyone together and devote all my efforts solely to the development of Daegu."

Daegu is long regarded as a stronghold of South Korean conservatism, and the People Power Party retained it as one of only a handful of regions it held in the broader local elections, The Korea Times reported. Choo described the outcome as a mandate to revive the city's economy and restore its potential.

Choo pledged economic renewal as the defining mission of his term. "I will never allow Daegu to be sidelined for political reasons," he said.