DP clinches resounding victory in Korea's general election

Left: Democratic Party (DP) leader Lee Jae-myung celebrates in the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, after exit poll results released on Wednesday evening predicted a landslide victory for the DP. Right: People Power Party (PPP) interim leader Han Dong-hoon closes his eyes while watching election coverage in the PPP's situation room inside the legislature. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

The liberal Democratic Party (DP) clinched a resounding victory, retaining a majority in the 300-seat National Assembly following Korea's general election Wednesday.

The DP took the lead in 161 out of 254 regional constituencies, and the conservative People Power Party (PPP) in 90 districts, according to the National Election Commission (NEC) as of 10: 30 a.m. Thursday, with 100 percent of votes tallied.

The DP and its satellite party, the Democratic United Party (DUP), secured a total of 175 seats when including 14 proportional representation seats, and the PPP and its affiliated People Future Party (PFP) 108 seats, including 18 proportional spots.

A dark horse victor in the election is former Justice Minister Cho Kuk, whose Rebuilding Korea Party secured 12 proportional representation seats, potentially bringing the liberal bloc to more than 180 seats combined.

This general election has been framed as a referendum on either President Yoon Suk Yeol or DP Chairman Lee Jae-myung, whose party secured a parliamentary supermajority four years ago.

Turnout was the highest for a legislative election in 32 years, at 67 percent, a slight increase from the 2020 general election.

In a marked defeat for Yoon and his PPP, which has lost three parliamentary elections in a row, the conservative bloc failed to secure the minimum 120 seats necessary to block the DP's fast track bills.

Now, Yoon is rendered a lame duck for the remaining half of his single, five-year term presidency, dealing a blow to his reform agenda.

Yoon, a political newcomer as a former prosecutor general, won the presidency in 2022, beating Lee, a former Gyeonggi governor, by a razor-thin margin. In the latest general election, Lee, who has been riddled by a land development scandal, was reelected to represent Incheon's Gyeyang-B District.

Securing over 54 percent of the votes, Lee comfortably defeated the PPP's candidate for the constituency, Won Hee-ryong, a former land minister in the Yoon administration, who received some 45 percent, according to the NEC.

Democratic Party Chairman Lee Jae-myung, center, speaks to his supporters at his campaign office in Incheon, early Thursday, as he was projected to be re-elected in Incheon's Gyeyang-B District. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Voter sentiment in the Seoul metropolitan area and Chungcheong region was an arbiter of victory in the latest election.

The DP swept 102 out of 122 seats in the metropolitan area, winning 37 of 48 constituencies in Seoul, 53 out of 60 in Gyeonggi and 12 out of 14 districts in Incheon.

In contrast, the PPP secured just 19 of the 122 constituencies, with 11 in Seoul, six in Gyeonggi and two in Incheon.

The PPP was also floored by the DP in the Chungcheong region, facing defeat in all nine constituencies in Daejeon and Sejong. The PPP won only six constituencies out of 19 in North Chungcheong and South Chungcheong.

In turn, the PPP secured 25 seats in Daegu and North Gyeongsang, traditionally conservative regions, while the DP swept the 28 seats in Honam, comprising Gwangju and the Jeolla provinces, a liberal stronghold.

The Saemirae Party, launched by former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon, who defected from the DP, is expected to secure one proportional seat, while the Reform Party, led by former PPP chief Lee Jun-seok, is projected to secure three.

Lee Jun-seok, ousted as PPP chairman last year, saw a surprise win in Gyeonggi's Hwaseong-B District, earning his first parliamentary seat.

The next National Assembly could face deadlock, unable to pass legislation or budget bills without the consent of the majority DP bloc, potentially leading to further disruptions from the opposing parties.

"The voters' choice is a judgment of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration," Lee said at his campaign office in Incheon early Thursday after learning of his projected win. "As the voters have demanded, I will try my best to stop the regression of the country's state affairs and make it move toward the future once again."

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, left, speaks in a Cabinet meeting at the government complex in central Seoul Thursday morning, addressing the general election results. [NEW1]

"The government will humbly accept the public sentiment through the general election and reflect on the overall state of affairs," Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said in a Cabinet meeting Thursday morning.

He promised to "work harder to promote reform tasks" for the recovery of the people's livelihoods and the future of the country.

Han said the government also plans to "hold more dialogue and cooperate more deeply with the newly-formed 22nd National Assembly and respond to the will of the people as a partner in national affairs."

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]