South Korea’s opposition wins elections in blow to belligerent Yoon
South Korea’s opposition lawmakers have won a landslide victory in the general elections.
With that, the current situation in South Korean politics is likely to worsen for President Yoon Suk Yeol, who has three remaining years in office.
The Democratic Party (DPK) and smaller opposition parties jointly won 192 of the 300 seats.
The ruling conservative People Power Party (PPP) won only 108 seats of the single-chamber parliament.
Yoon has been navigating an unpopular stream of presidency since taking office.
The incumbent president and the PPP have lost popularity in recent months due to soaring food prices and a prolonged healthcare crisis.
They have also been under fire over scandals involving Yoon’s family. The president is accused of eroding freedom of expression.
Yoon will probably be pressured to seek cooperation with the DP leader Lee Jae-myung, whom he defeated in the 2022 presidential race by a razor-thin margin. So far, Yoon has refused to sit down for a one-on-one talk with Lee, who led a combative campaign against Yoon.
The DP leader has said the top priority now is to work for economic recovery.
“The ruling and opposition parties must join forces to overcome the crisis in consumers' economic livelihood.”
The PPP's lack of control of the National Assembly is thwarting the ruling party's socially conservative legislative agenda, including its reforms to healthcare.
Since his rise to power in 2022, Yoon has taken a hardline stance towards North Korea.
Tensions came to a head after a US nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) docked in at a naval base in Busan, South Korea.
In July 2023, Yoon described the submarine docking for the first time since the 1980s as a "starting point" to build a strong joint military force against North Korea.
"Through a South Korea-US alliance upgraded to a new nuclear-based paradigm, we will make substantial efforts to fundamentally block North Korea's nuclear and missile threats," Yoon told the media.
On Wednesday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un warned the military to be prepared for war with the South.
“Now is the time to be more thoroughly prepared for a war than ever before,” he said visiting the country’s main military university, Kim Jong Il University of Military and Politics.
The North Korean leader cited the “uncertain and unstable military and political situation” under Yoon as Pyongyang's source of concern.
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