Election victory bolsters Moon's campaign for reform and inter-Korean thaw

By Lim Chang-won Posted : June 14, 2018, 13:00 Updated : June 14, 2018, 14:49

[Yonhap Photo]


SEOUL -- Emboldened by a landslide election victory, South Korean President Moon Jae-in embarked on a flurry of diplomacy Thursday to establish peace on the Korean peninsula, starting with a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

With overwhelming support from voters, Moon's governing Democratic Party (DP) swept more than 80 percent of the crucial seats at stake at Wednesday's local elections and parliamentary by-elections, which followed a historic summit between the United States and North Koran in Singapore.

"It reflects the public evaluation of the Moon Jae-in government," the ruling party said in a statement. "At the same time, the people's desire for peace, prosperity and a strong local government were voted."

Final vote counting showed the ruling party took away 11 of 12 parliamentary seats. The outcome bolstered Moon's political power as his party increased the number of seats from 199 to 130 in the 300-member unicameral National Assembly.

The conservative main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) added one to control 113 seats. The remainder was shared by splinter groups, including the Bareunmirae Party which has 30 seats.

Moon also bolstered his mandate for reforms with broad support in Seoul and its surrounding Gyeonggi province, where some 42 percent of the country's population resides.

Moon's party won 14 of 17 big mayoral and gubernatorial races, including those for or Seoul mayor and Gyeonggi Province governor. LKP candidates had two. Incumbent Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, a strong supporter of Moon's reform drive, retained his post for his a third term.

The LKP also suffered a crushing defeat in races to elect 226 local administrative chiefs, 17 educational heads and more than 3,700 local legislative councilors. LKP head Hong Joon-pyo resigned to take responsibility for an election setback. "As of today, I resign from my post. It's all my fault and all responsibilities are with me," he said.

It marked the first major elections since Moon, a liberal leader, was elected in May last year to succeed South Korea's jailed ex-president Park Geun-hye, who is still on trial for her role in a massive corruption scandal. Public support for the conservative opposition group has waned since Park was impeached and ousted last year.

Before Wednesday's voting, an overriding topic has been a summit between Trump and Kim who signed a peace agreement at their summit in Singapore.

The ruling party said Moon's efforts to improve inter-Korean relations had a positive impact on undecided voters, although opposition candidates played down its significance, arguing it did not contain North Korea's complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization.

An opinion survey of 1,006 adults, published by Realmeter on Thursday, showed that Moon's approval rating stood at 75.1 percent, up 2.8 percentage points from a week ago. "The increase in Moon's approval rating is due to the rise in expectations of the June 12 summit and peace on the Korean peninsula," the Seoul-based pollster said.
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