| Center-right wins South Korea's election |
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Apr.11.- The centre-right Grand National Party (GNP) has won slightly over half the seats in South Korea's parliament, giving the party a majority that will help the new president, Lee Myung-bak, to advance his pro-business economic policy agenda. However, the results of the April 9th election are also disappointing for the party, which just a few months ago could have expected a much bigger majority in light of Mr Lee's large margin of victory in the presidential election in December. A record low turnout and the successes of rival conservative parties in the latest legislative election underline the limits of the GNP's mandate, a problem Mr Lee will have to overcome if his administration is to be effective.
The GNP won 153 seats out of 299 and did particularly well in Seoul, perhaps buoyed by Mr Lee's success in his old job as city mayor ... The Liberty Forward Party (LFP), led by a former GNP chairman, Lee Hoi-chang, won 18 seats ... Supporters of another former GNP leader, Park Geun-hye, also diluted the GNP's vote, having defected from the GNP shortly before the general election after disputes over candidate nominations. This so-called "pro-Park" camp won 14 seats, thanks in large part to a strong performance in the south-east. In all, therefore, the main conservative groups won 185 seats, or 62% of the total. [ full text ] |
