Opposition Win In South Korean Parliament Polls Threatens President's Authority

South Korea's liberal opposition parties achieved a landslide victory in the parliamentary election, as indicated by preliminary vote counts, potentially rendering conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol a lame duck for the remainder of his three-year term, according to the Associated Press (AP).

While the liberal opposition's control over parliament would expand, they were unlikely to secure the super majority of 200 seats necessary to override presidential vetoes or pursue impeachment proceedings. I Photo: 윤석열 Yoon Suk Yeol X

With the majority of ballots tallied, the main opposition Democratic Party and its affiliated party appeared to secure a combined 175 seats in the 300-member National Assembly.

Additionally, a small liberal opposition party was poised to secure 12 seats under proportional representation. Conversely, Yoon's ruling People Power Party and its affiliated party were projected to secure 109 seats.

The election was widely viewed as a midterm assessment of Yoon, a former top prosecutor inaugurated in 2022 for a single five-year term.

Yoon has faced dwindling approval ratings domestically and grappled with a parliament controlled by the liberal opposition that has hindered his major policy initiatives, as reported by Mainichi Japan.