Seoul (Reuters) – South Korea's progressive opposition parties won a landslide victory in Wednesday's parliamentary elections, dealing a resounding blow to President Yoon Suk-yeol and his conservative party, but they were likely unable to achieve a supermajority.
Projections indicate that the Democratic Party will win more than 170 of the 300 seats in the new legislature, with data from the National Electoral Commission and radio and television stations showing that more than 99% of the votes have been counted by 5:55 am on Thursday (local time) .
A breakaway progressive party considered an ally of the Democratic Party is expected to win at least ten seats, according to projections.
Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung said, “When voters chose me, this was your ruling against the government of Yoon Suk-yeol and you are giving the Democratic Party the duty to take responsibility for people's livelihoods and create a better society.”
Lee won the race for a seat in the city of Incheon, west of the capital, Seoul, against a heavyweight conservative candidate considered a close ally of the president.
Some analysts view the heated race as a referendum on Yoon, whose popularity has taken a hit amid a cost-of-living crisis and a series of political scandals.
“Judgment” was a common theme in the comments of opposition victors, many of whom mounted intense campaigns over what they claimed was Yoon's mismanagement of the economy and his refusal to acknowledge that his wife had acted inappropriately when she accepted a grant from Dior as a gift.
First Lady Kim Keun-hye has not appeared in public since December 15 and was not present when Yoon voted, reflecting the view of some analysts and opposition party members that she has become a serious political weakness for the president and his Pakistan People's Party.
His People Power Party is expected to win just over 100 seats, meaning Yoon will avoid a two-thirds majority from opposition control that could override a presidential veto and pass constitutional amendments.
But as the end of the first two years of the only five-term term allowed by the constitution approaches, Yoon is expected to enter a very weak political position, according to some analysts.
The National Elections Commission is expected to announce the official results on Thursday. Nearly 29.7 million people, or 67% of eligible voters, cast ballots, according to the commission.
This was the highest ever turnout in a parliamentary election, although the numbers were lower than the 2022 presidential election that brought Yoon to power by a narrow margin.
Yoon was not running for election this time, but his ability to pass legislation would likely be severely hampered by the poor results of his party, the Pakistan People's Party.
