South Korean opposition set to win election
By Christy Cooney
South Korea’s liberal opposition party is expected to increase its majority in parliament after Wednesday’s election.
With nearly all votes counted, the Democratic Party (DPK) and a satellite party are set to win more than 170 of 300 seats in the National Assembly.
The vote is widely seen as a midterm referendum on President Yoon Suk Yeol, who has three years left in office.
His People Power Party (PPP) had already struggled to achieve its agenda in a legislature dominated by the DPK.
The PPP and its own satellite party are expected to emerge from the election with just 109 National Assembly seats.
Both main parties use breakaway satellite parties to maximise their vote under South Korea’s electoral system, which assigns some seats to smaller parties whose seat counts fall short of their overall support.
Despite their success, the opposition is expected to miss out on a two-thirds super majority, which would have allowed it to override presidential vetoes and pass constitutional amendments.
The result could, however, embolden DPK leader Lee Jae-myung, who narrowly lost the presidential election to Mr Yoon in 2022, to make another run.
