Ruling DP and Satellite Party Win 180 Seats
South Korea's ruling Democratic Party (DP) of Korea clinched a landslide victory in the April 15 general elections. The party alone has secured 163 of the 253 directly contested seats, becoming the majority party of the 300-member National Assembly on its own.
The DP’s power is much more than that as its satellite Together Citizens' Party (TCP) has won 17 of the 47 proportional representation (PR) slots. The two parties’ combined seats reached 180 or three-fifths of the 300 seats that are required to pass legislative bills on a fast track.
The ruling party can also expect support from its progressive allies, including the Justice Party which won six seats (one directly contested seat five PR seats), the Open Democratic Party which secured three PR seats, and one independent winner. Altogether, the progressive camp controls 190 seats.
In contrast, the main opposition United Future Party (UFP) suffered a devastating defeat by winning only 84 directly contested seats. Its satellite Future Korea Party (FKP) secured 19 PR seats. Together, the two parties clinched 103 seats, far fewer than the 121 seats the UFP won in the previous elections four years ago. The only solace for the UFP is that its satellite party outclassed that of DP in PR seats.
The conservative camp as a whole secured 110 seats, including the three PR seats gained by the People's Party, which is led by Ahn Cheol-soo, and four independent winners who are former UFP members.
UFP Chairman Hwang Kyo-ahn has resigned from his post after his party suffered a crushing defeat. He held an emergency news conference at around 12 a.m. on April 16 to announce that he would step down from his post to take responsibility for the election outcome.
Apologizing to the nation for the defeat, Hwang said that he reflect on his roles for the country and citizens. The UFP chairman himself lost in the Jongno district in Seoul to former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon of the ruling Democratic Party.