Governing could soon become more difficult for South Korea’s President Yoon: Initial forecasts indicate that the liberal opposition will win in the parliamentary elections. This could override the right to veto laws.
According to initial forecasts, the opposition in South Korea has won the parliamentary election. They were able to expand their majority in parliament, according to forecasts published on television after the polls closed.
According to joint calculations by the three television channels KBS, MBC and SBS, the Democratic Party and its allies are likely to get 183 to 197 of the 300 seats in the House of Representatives. According to forecasts, President Yoon Suk Yeol’s conservative People Power Party (PPP) could only win 85 to 100 seats.
This would mean President Yoon’s party’s plan to regain the majority in parliament in the election would have failed. According to forecasts based on post-election surveys, all opposition parties together could even have won a so-called “super majority” of at least 200 of the 300 seats in parliament. This would allow them to override the president’s actual right to veto laws – and even have the opportunity to remove the president from office.
Mood test for President Yoon
After a polarizing election campaign, a close election result was expected. The parliamentary election was seen as a vote between the conservative President Yoon and his People’s Power party (PPP) and his liberal rival Lee Jae Myung, who was only narrowly defeated in the 2022 presidential election. Problems such as the course towards North Korea, the economic situation and doctors’ strikes in response to health care reform took a somewhat back seat.
In Asia’s fourth largest economy, around 44 million people were able to cast their votes. Of those eligible to vote, 31 percent had already taken advantage of the opportunity to vote early at the end of last week. According to the State Election Commission, more than 952 candidates and 38 parties have registered for the election. Since its victory four years ago, the opposition social-liberal Democratic Party (DP) has had a majority in parliament.