The World Briefly

April 12, 2024

Message Received

South Korea

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South Korea’s prime minister and presidential advisers offered to resign on Thursday after the liberal opposition secured a landslide victory in the general election, a major setback to conservative President Yoon Suk-Yeol, the Associated Press reported.

The opposition maintained its control of parliament for another term that will end after Yoon’s expires in 2027. The president will likely face obstacles in advancing his domestic policy agenda in the remaining three years of his mandate, analysts said.

In the aftermath of the ruling People Party’s losses following last week’s vote, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and all presidential officials, except for security advisers, offered to resign. Yoon’s office did not clarify whether he had accepted the resignations.

Yoon said he would “humbly uphold” the lessons from the election and work toward improving Koreans’ economic situation.

Complete results showed that the opposition Democratic Party and its allies had won a combined 187 seats in the 300-member National Assembly, while Yoon’s alliance obtained 108 seats. The election was marked by a turnout of 67 percent, the highest in a general election in three decades.

The election, widely regarded as a confidence vote for the president, came as he faced dwindling approval ratings. Critics of Yoon said he failed to address rising inflation and did not immediately sack top officials involved in scandals. Though his ratings rose when he pushed for an increase in medical school intakes, the ensuing doctors’ strike harmed his popularity.

The new parliament will be inaugurated on May 30 for a four-year term.

This story originally appeared in the April 12, 2024 newsletter, Pointillistic Terror.