SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s ruling liberal party was projected to win a landslide victory in Wednesday’s mayoral and other local elections, exit polls and ongoing vote counts suggested, a result that if confirmed would give President Lee Jae Myung a firmer political mandate to advance his agenda.

A victory by Lee’s Democratic Party had been widely expected because its main rival, the conservative People Power Party, remains in disarray after President Yoon Suk Yeol was removed from office and sentenced to life in prison over his martial law debacle in late 2024.

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