SEOUL – South Korea’s liberal opposition parties scored a landslide victory in a parliamentary election, vote counts showed on April 10, dealing a resounding blow to President Yoon Suk-yeol and his conservative party but likely falling just short of a super-majority.

The Democratic Party (DP) was projected to take 175 of the 300 seats in the new legislature, data by the National Election Commission and network broadcasters showed, with all votes counted.

A splinter liberal party considered allied with the DP was expected to take 12 seats, projections showed, leaving the bloc short of the 200 seats needed for a super-majority.

Mr Yoon’s People Power Party (PPP) was set to win 108 seats.

An official announcement of the results is due later on April 11.

DP leader Lee Jae-myung, who led a combative campaign against Mr Yoon, said the top priority now was to work for an economic recovery that would be palpable for the average consumer.

“The ruling and opposition parties must join forces to overcome the crisis in consumers’ economic livelihood,” he said.

The bitterly fought race was seen by some analysts as a referendum on Mr Yoon, whose popularity has suffered amid a cost-of-living crisis and a spate of political scandals.

Mr Yoon, who took office in May 2022, was not up for election this time.

However, his ability to pass legislation is likely to be further inhibited by the PPP’s poor showing.

He has suffered low ratings for months, hamstrung in implementing his pledges to cut taxes, ease business regulations and expand family support in the world’s fastest-ageing society.

Opposition control of Parliament will continue a government stalemate in areas where Mr Yoon has clashed with the liberals on policies that require legislation, such as tax incentives for businesses and whether to tax capital gains on stocks, analysts said.

Mr Yoon had “humbly accepted” the result of the election and pledged to renew his administration, his chief of staff said.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and other senior aides had also offered to resign after the election defeat, Yonhap News reported.

Political science professor Lee Jun-han of Incheon National University said April 10’s poll had all the characteristics of a midterm election, with voters delivering a message that the government’s economic policies were failing.

“With the opposition with nearly 190 seats or more, I think the difficulties with legislation, budget and state administration will continue in the future,” he said.

Analyst Kim Young-hwan of NH Investment & Securities said “expectations were inevitably weaker” for implementing Mr Yoon’s push to enhance the value of corporate stocks considered to be trading at a discount compared with global peers.

Some stocks that had rallied on optimism around the government’s so-called Corporate Value-up Programme, such as financials and automakers, fell on expectations that the DP will most likely block any tax cuts for corporations and wealthy investors.

Return of foes and lame duck

“Judgment” was the common theme running through comments by opposition victors.

Many of them had campaigned on what they said was Mr Yoon’s mismanagement of the economy and his refusal to acknowledge that his wife acted improperly when she accepted a Dior bag as a gift.

First Lady Kim Keon-hee has not been seen in public since Dec 15, 2023.

She was absent when Mr Yoon voted, reflecting the view by some analysts and opposition party members that she had become a political liability for the President and his PPP.

The election also brought the return of some of Mr Yoon’s foes, including former justice minister Cho Kuk leading a splinter third party, former PPP leader Lee Jun-seok who had split with Mr Yoon in a feud, and Ms Choo Mi-ae, who as a former justice minister clashed with Mr Yoon when he was the top prosecutor.

Mr Yoon is, however, likely to avoid the super-majority of a two-thirds opposition control that could break presidential vetoes and pass constitutional amendments.

But nearing the end of the first two years of his five-year single term allowed by the Constitution, Mr Yoon was likely to slip into lame-duck status, some analysts said.

Dr Mason Richey of the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies said Mr Yoon might focus more on his overseas agenda, including tightening security ties with the US and Japan, though those plans could also be at risk if the opposition seeks to cut budgets.

“Given his likely lame-duck status, the temptation for Yoon will be to focus on foreign policy where he will still have statutory power,” Dr Richey said. REUTERS