"I was dearly afraid if the Gangnam residents would take a guy from the North,"a smiling Thae said in an acceptance speech shared on his YouTube channel,as crowds of voters gathered in his campaign office,chanting his name and cheering.
"But so many people here gave me strength - they held my hand,welcomed me to Gangnam and promised to vote for me,"he said in a hoarse voice after weeks-long rallies.
Gangnam,a wealthy,conservative district known for its boutiques,high-end bars and luxury homes,shot to international renown through musician Psy's 2012 K-pop hitGangnam Style.
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Thae,who had worked in South Korea as a foreign policy expert before launching a bid for parliament in February,is thefirst North Korean refugee to become a legislator representing a constituency in South Korea. Cho Myung-chul,a former North Korean professor,served in parliament from 2012-16 on a party endorsement but without any constituency.
The election drew unprecedented levels of participation from North Korean defectors challenging what they saw as the flawed cross-border policy of President Moon Jae-in.