Liberal activist wins Seoul mayoral race

A liberal lawyer-turned civic activist won the closely watched Seoul mayoral race Wednesday, seen as a key test of voter sentiment ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections next year. Park Won-soon, an independent candidate backed by opposition parties, defeated his conservative rival Na Kyung-won of the ruling Grand National Party with 53.4 percent of the vote, according to the National Election Commission. Na, a former ruling party spokeswoman, garnered 46.21 percent of the vote. Voter turnout was estimated at 48.6 percent. "Today, we chose to usher in a new era," Park told reporters as he claimed the election victory, adding that "citizens have prevailed." "I will take this (defeat) as an opportunity to look back on myself," Na said as votes were being counted, conceding her defeat. Park enjoyed the overwhelming support from voters under the age of 40, while Na, a two-term lawmaker, was more popular among older voters and in affluent districts in southern Seoul that traditionally prefer conservative politicians. Park will replace Oh Se-hoon, a conservative former mayor who quit in August after losing a city-wide referendum on an opposition-proposed free school lunch program. The 55-year-old Park supports the opposition-led plan to provide free meals at all elementary schools and gradually expand the program to cover junior high school students in the city by 2014. He also pledged to scrap big-ticket construction projects initiated by his conservative predecessor and slash the surging deficit of the capital city of 10 million people. But policy pledges were often overshadowed by campaign mudslinging throughout the race. The ruling camp attacked Park for an alleged attempt at draft dodging, while Park's camp fired back at Na for spending a fortune on skin care. Still, observers say the triumph of Park, who was hardly a viable mayoral contender when he first entered the race, is a direct blow to President Lee Myung-bak and his conservative party as they face key polls next year. Na had the backing of Park Geun-hye, a former ruling party chairwoman widely seen as a front-runner for the party's nomination for president next year. With Na's defeat, Park, the daughter of Park Chung-hee, the authoritarian leader who ruled South Korea for 18 years, might see her popularity go south. On the other hand, the victory of Park Won-soon, a political novice, is seen as a reflection of voter disenchantment with same old partisan politics of South Korea, a young democracy. His popularity surged only after Ahn Cheol-soo, a software tycoon widely popular among young voters, threw his weight behind the longtime activist after briefly mulling his own mayoral bid. Ahn, also a university professor, also has no political affiliations, signaling a new political trend where links to old political establishment is no longer a guaranteed political asset. The liberal main opposition Democratic Party, the ruling party' s archenemy, backed Park Won-soon only after the sole party candidate lost to Park in electoral college votes and public surveys as the liberal camp sought to form a unified front against their conservative rivals. Critics say Park's alignment with opposition parties is a shaky one that is likely to fall apart when the two sides clash over certain issues, but the Democrats were jubilant. "The victory of Park Won-soon, the sole candidate from the liberal camp, is also a victory for the Democratic Party," party chairman Sohn Hak-kyu was quoted as telling reporters. "The victory is a prelude to the power transition in 2012," the left-leaning Democratic Labor Party said in a statement. The new mayor immediately takes office on Thursday.