South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol promises reform. The statement came after People Power Party (PPP) Chairman Han Dong-hoon and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, as well as a number of senior aides resigned because the opposition party took control of parliament.
This result has left Yoon as a politically weak president for the remaining three years of his term. That’s in addition to the economic and security challenges from North Korea.
“There will be more extreme confrontation between Yoon and the opposition in the next parliament, especially with the election of a candidate who vowed to be highly critical of his government,” said Professor of Political Science at Myongji University, Shin Yul.
Yoon, 63, has taken a tough line against nuclear-armed North Korea while improving ties with Washington and former colonial power Japan.
But the former prosecutor is unloved by voters, and many are angry about inequality, high housing prices and youth unemployment in the country of 51 million people.
The opposition also criticized Yoon after he said the price of spring onions, a staple of Korean cooking, was reasonable and a video of his wife receiving a US$2,200 designer handbag was widely circulated.
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“I will humbly respect the will of the people expressed in the general election, reform state affairs, and do my best to stabilize the economy and people’s livelihoods,” Yoon said, according to his chief of staff Lee Kwan-sup.
With all the votes counted on Thursday, results from the National Election Commission and major broadcasters showed the conservative People’s Power Party (PPP) led by Yoon and its satellites plummeting from 114 seats in parliament to just 108.
The biggest winner was the Democratic Party (DP) led by Lee Jae-myung and his partners, whose number of seats increased to 175 from 156 seats.
The newly founded Korea Redevelopment Party led by former justice minister Cho Kuk won 12 seats.
However, the opposition parties’ vote share was not as impressive as opinion polls showed, all opposition parties failed to achieve a super majority of 200 seats in the 300-member National Assembly. (AFP/M-3)
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