Democratic Party of Korea Daegu mayoral candidate Kim Boo-kyum reviews exit poll results at the campaign office at Duryu Intersection in Dalseo-gu, Daegu, on the 3rd and raises a clenched fist to supporters. Yonhap News

As exit polls by the three terrestrial broadcasters (KBS·MBC·SBS) for the 6·3 local elections suggested that the Daegu mayoral race, a key battleground, would be an ultra-close contest within the margin of error, Democratic Party of Korea candidate Kim Boo-kyum said on the 3rd, “A desire to change the political landscape in Daegu has emerged.”

In an interview with MBC that day, Kim said, “It was the fiercest election of my life,” and made the remark.

According to the exit poll, in the Daegu mayoral election People Power Party candidate Chu Kyung-ho was projected to receive 49.9%, and Democratic Party of Korea candidate Kim Boo-kyum 49.1%.

As of 5 p.m., voter turnout in the Daegu area stood at 59.9%. This is 16.7 percentage points higher than the final turnout of 43.2% in the 2022 local elections. Kim said, “Because the competition was fierce, it seems citizens in Daegu also felt a sense of efficacy in politics and elections,” adding, “I judge that citizens responded to what Kim Boo-kyum appealed for.”

Kim said, “There was a solemn command from citizens that since Daegu is facing difficulty, you should work even harder once more to bring change to Daegu, and I feel I have taken up that desire of the citizens,” adding, “I am grateful to the citizens.”

This exit poll was conducted from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. that day, targeting 108,727 voters at 615 polling stations nationwide. The sampling error is ±1.7~4.1 percentage points by region at a 95% confidence level.