DP wins landslide victory

Apr 11, 2024, 10:51 am

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Members of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) including DP Chairperson Rep. Lee Jae-myung cheer as they watch the exit polls at the National Assembly in Seoul on April 10, 2024./ Source: Yonhap News

AsiaToday reporter Joo Young-min

The main opposition Democratic Party has won a landslide victory in Wednesday’s general elections. The country’s liberal opposition bloc is expected to secure more than 188 seats. The ruling People Power Party (PPP) managed to win just over 100 seats, meaning President Yoon Suk-yeol would avoid the super-majority of a two-third opposition control that could break presidential vetoes and pass constitutional amendments.

According to the National Election Commission (NEC), as of 6 a.m. Thursday, with 99 percent of votes counted, the DP secured 174 out of 300 parliamentary seats, while the PPP is expected to remain as the second largest party with 109 seats. Chances are high that the New Reform Party will secure three seats, and both the New Future Party and Jinbo Party one seat each.

The DP won 161 out of 254 directly contested seats. Notably, it won 37 districts in Seoul and 65 in Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, sweeping 102 out of 122 seats in the greater Seoul area. In contrast, the PPP garnered 11 and 8, respectively.

In a surprise outcome, Lee Jun-seok, an ousted leader of the PPP and the leader of the New Reform Party, won his first-ever parliamentary seat in the Hwaseong-B district in Gyeonggi Province.

In Daejeon, Sejong and Chungcheong Province, the DP won 21 seats, while the PPP won six. In Gangwon Province, the DP won in six districts while the PPP secured two.

In the race for 46 proportional seats, the DP’s satellite Democratic Alliance is expected to take 13 eats while the PPP’s sister People Future Party 19 seats. The Rebuilding Korea Party led by former justice minister Cho Kuk is expected to win 12 seats, jumping to become the third party in the parliament.

The parliament majority will allow the DP to move forward with bills through the “fast-track” process. It can also field one of its own as the Assembly speaker, who has the authority to put bills straight up for a plenary vote without going through subcommittees.

As the DP won the majority of seats that its leader Lee Jae-myung has aimed for, Lee is likely to gain momentum in his presidential campaign. Some even predict that Lee could re-challenge the party’s power at the upcoming national convention in August. Cho Kuk who entered the political circle with a sensation of the Rebuilding Korea, is seen as the next potential presidential runner.

However, there are judicial risks for both. Lee faces an array of corruption investigations that he claims that politically motivated. Cho was sentenced to two years in prison in February due to allegations of corruption in her daughter’s university entrance examinations.

#general election #DP #PPP #landslide victory