South Korea's main opposition and its affiliate won a landslide victory in Wednesday's general election, retaining a majority in the parliament, according to official results from the country's election commission the following day.
The Democratic Party's triumph over the minority ruling People Power Party dealt a major blow to the administration of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who still has three years left in his five-year term.
With all votes counted Thursday, the DP and its affiliated party clinched 175 out of the 300 seats in the National Assembly, while the PPP and its ally won 108 seats, the results from the National Election Commission showed.
The results reflected worsened public sentiment toward Yoon's government over his failures to improve the sluggish economy and address the sinking birth rate as well as to cope with ongoing accusations over his wife's scandals, local media reported.
DP leader Lee Jae Myung expressed deep gratitude for the voters' support, saying that his party will do its best to overcome the challenges confronting the nation.
"All political parties must work together to solve the economic crisis. The DP will actively take the lead in solving the immediate problems of people's livelihoods," Lee said at the party's headquarters.
PPP leader Han Dong Hoon expressed regret that the party was unable to secure the support of the people and stepped down from his post to take responsibility for its loss at the polls. Prime Minister Han Duck Soo also offered his resignation, an official from the presidential office said.
Yoon was quoted by the official as saying he "will humbly accept the will of the people expressed in the general election." He vowed to revitalize policies, stabilize the economy and improve people's lives.
According to the election commission, former Justice Minister Cho Kuk's Korea Innovation Party, which aims to reform the prosecutor's office and oust Yoon as president, won 12 proportional representation seats, enabling the wider opposition bloc to surpass the threshold of 180 seats needed to pass bills without the ruling party's support.
However, the number of the opposition parties' seats fell short of 200, a two-thirds majority that would have enabled them to initiate processes such as constitutional amendments and presidential impeachments and to enact bills vetoed by a president.
Before the election, the main opposition and its affiliate held 156 seats of the unicameral legislature and the ruling bloc 114.
Meanwhile, some veteran politicians known to hold a friendly stance toward Japan lost their seats, raising concerns about the impact on bilateral ties.
Among the PPP candidates, Chung Jin Suk, head of a bipartisan group of lawmakers from South Korea and Japan, and former Foreign Minister Park Jin, who unveiled the Yoon administration's solution to compensate plaintiffs in Japanese wartime labor cases through a government-backed foundation in March 2023, were ousted by voters.
Former Prime Minister Lee Nak Yon, an expert in Japanese affairs and a former Tokyo correspondent for one of South Korea's major newspapers, lost his seat after running from his own New Future Party following his departure from the DP.
The election commission said voter turnout in Wednesday's election was 67 percent, the highest for a general election in 32 years.
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South Korea opposition party likely to maintain majority: exit polls
South Korean President Yoon's leadership to be tested in general election
