Kim Dong-yeon (65), the Gyeonggi gubernatorial candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, made a dramatic comeback to overturn the race at the last minute. Governor-elect Kim caused quite a commotion after defeating People Power Party candidate Kim Eun-hye, President Yoon Suk-yeol’s key aide, in a race that did not seem to run in his favor just 22 days after the launch of the Yoon Suk-yeol government. Experts claim that Kim Dong-yeon, who emerged as a rookie politician representing the “third zone” (neither the Democratic Party nor the People Power Party), has now secured the foundation to grow into a future presidential candidate of the Democratic Party.

According to the June 1 local election results, Kim obtained 49.06% of the votes and defeated Kim Eun-hye (48.91%) by only 0.15% of the votes. Early into the ballot counting, Kim trailed behind Kim by 5%, but managed to slowly narrow the gap as time passed. At 5:32 a.m. June 2, when 96.59% of the ballots had been counted, Kim Dong-yeon tied with Kim Eun-hye for the first time, then began leading the race by 0.02%. In the end, he won by only 8,907 votes.

At around 7:10 a.m. this morning in his election campaign office in Suwon-si, Gyeonggi, Kim Dong-yeon said, “The people in our province who wanted change and the yearning and desire of the people enabled today’s victory,” and shared his thoughts saying, “I will do all I can to sow the seeds of change and reforms in the Democratic Party.”

Throughout the nation, the race was closest in Gyeonggi-do. Kim Dong-yeon, who agreed to stand united behind former Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung in the last presidential election, and Kim Eun-hye, who was President Yoon Suk-yeol’s spokesperson when he was president-elect, fought a fierce battle. In the last presidential election, President Yoon had lost to Lee Jae-myung by 5.32% in this region, but Kim Eun-hye’s support climbed thanks to the convention effect of the Yoon Suk-yeol government. A number of polls showed mixed outcomes for the gubernatorial election in Gyeonggi.

Kim Dong-yeon overcame a race that seemed against his favor by promoting his personal competitiveness. He highlighted the race as one between a worker and a speaker and appealed to the voters pledging new politics and innovation in the Democratic Party. Voter turnout was only 50.6%, 7.2% lower than the turnout four years ago (57.8%), but Kim appears to have attracted Democratic Party supporters and moderate voters. Kim was ahead of his opponent in all age groups under fifty in the exit polls conducted by the three major broadcasting stations (KBS, MBC, SBS). The fact that voters in their fifties responded favorably to the Democratic Party candidate is cited as a decisive factor in his victory. Kim Eun-hye’s false report of her property and her failure to unite with the independent candidate Kang Yong-seok also contributed to her defeat.

Democratic Party leaders managed to avoid the worst possible outcome by securing Gyeonggi-do, the province of Lee Jae-myung. The party secured a victory in the Seoul metropolitan area where the majority of the nation’s population is concentrated, leaving room for a comeback. Park Ji-hyun, co-chair of the party’s emergency committee wrote on social media, “The victory in Gyeonggi is a sign that the people will give us a chance anytime as long as we show our willingness to replace old politics with new politics and reform the party.” Kim’s victory also eased the burden on former Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung, who could have been the Democratic Party’s sole survivor after he was elected in the by-election for a seat in the National Assembly representing Gyeyang 2 in Incheon, which took place simultaneously with the local elections.

Kim Dong-yeon was born in a shantytown, a “dirt spoon” by birth, who grew to become a government official specializing in economics. He served in major positions in the Roh Moo-hyun, Lee Myung-bak, and Park Geun-hye governments before serving as the first deputy prime minister and minister of economy and finance in the Moon Jae-in government. Last August, he founded the political party, the New Wave, and ran in the presidential election. Last March, he united with former Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung and pledged his support in an effort to change politics. His party was integrated with the Democratic Party. He made a bid in the Gyeonggi gubernatorial race claiming to succeed the Lee Jae-myung spirit. His latest victory has experts suggesting that he has grown to become a possible presidential candidate on par with Lee Jae-myung.

However, Kim Dong-yeon has a pile of difficult problems ahead of him. In the mayoral elections in the 31 lower-level local governments (si, gun) in Gyeonggi-do, the Democratic Party was utterly defeated, 9 to 22. Kim will have to produce outcomes through governance with mayors and provincial council members of the People Power Party. Another key issue is whether Kim, who claimed to succeed Lee Jae-myung’s policies, will be able to create policy achievements of his own. Experts claim that he will have to prove his ability in provincial administration to emerge as a heavyweight in the Democratic Party. He has a small support base in the party, so how he will establish his relationship with Lee Jae-myung is another issue. On May 18, in a debate organized by the Kwanhun Club, Kim Dong-yeon spoke on the alleged misuse of the corporate credit card by Lee Jae-myung’s wife, Kim Hye-kyung, and said, “There is obviously a problem,” and expressed his intention to cooperate in an investigation into the truth. However, if Kim stands against Lee, he could weaken his position inside the party.