South Korea's ruling Grand National Party (GNP) won a majority of the seats in Wednesday's parliamentary elections, paving the way for President Lee Myung-bak to push through business-friendly proposals and honor his commitment to revitalizing the economy, analysts said.
OVERWHELMING BUT FEWER-THAN-EXPECTED SEATS
The GNP gained 153 seats in the 299-member National Assembly, the first time the conservative party reclaimed a majority in parliament since 1998.
The largest opposition United Democratic Party, which previously held 136 seats in the outgoing assembly, gained 81 seats.
"Public support for a revival of the economy and job creation gave us a majority," President Lee said after the party's victory.
GNP leader Kang Jae-Sup also hailed the result as "a triumph for the great people who want to revitalize the economy and unify the nation."
When the new parliament opens on May 30, it will be the first time in 20 years that the conservatives are in control of both the government and the legislature in the country.
But despite the overwhelming victory, the GNP failed to secure a 170-seat solid majority necessary to carry out sweeping reform programs.
Analysts attributed the GNP's failure to the internal feud between supporters of President Lee and former GNP Chairwoman Park Geun-hye, the Yonhap News Agency reported.
The president will have to mull how to win support from such small parties as the Liberty Forward Party and the Pro-Park Coalition, in order to push through parliament his various economic reform bills and proposals, analysts said.
FAVORABLE CIRCUMSTANCES EXIST BUT CHALLENGES MOUNT
In Wednesday's polls, voter turnout fell to a record low of 46 percent of 37.8 million eligible voters, which indicates a falling trend in the public apathy over politics.
The GNP's victory also shows that the electorate long for political stability and eagerly look forward to the smooth implementation of economic reforms by the ruling party, analysts said.
Lee had hoped to ride on his landslide victory in last December's poll to win more in the parliamentary elections, but failed to achieve the desired result, and he has also seen a slip in his high popularity.
Worse still, the aftermath of a global economic downturn appears more serious for South Korea.
Lee, the first South Korean president from a business background, promised to achieve 7-percent annual economic growth, double the country's per capita income to 40,000 U.S. dollars over a decade and lift the country to one of the top seven economies in the world -- the so-called "747" economic development blueprint.
South Korea's producer prices rose at the fastest pace in more than nine years in March on soaring oil and raw material costs, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Wednesday.
Economists predict that economic growth looks almost certain tofall short of the 6-percent projection Lee's administration has targeted for this year.
The central bank has already revised down its economic growth projection for this year to 4.7 percent from its previous forecast of 5 percent last December, citing the fallout of the U.S. subprime mortgage problems and rapidly rising oil prices.
Analysts said how to meet the challenges ahead is high on the agenda of Lee's administration.
"As the favorable circumstances are established, (my administration) will find it easy to obtain the Assembly's understanding and cooperation in state affairs meant to further advance the country," Lee said.
Source: Xinhua
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