SEOUL – South Korea's ruling Democratic Party won a majority of races for metropolitan mayors and provincial governors in Wednesday's local elections, according to preliminary vote-counting results reported by local media on Thursday.

As of 9 am local time, Democratic Party candidates either won or remained ahead in 12 of the 16 races for metropolitan mayors and provincial governors, while the main opposition People Power Party was expected to win 4 of the key races, according to the reports.

The elections were widely viewed as a key test for the Lee Jae-myung administration as it entered its second year in office.