After vote counts revealed that the left-wing Democratic Party decisively overran the National Assembly in Wednesday’s midterm election, several senior members of the conservative President Yoon Suk-yeol’s administration and the head of his People Power Party ( PPP ) announced their resignations on Thursday.
The Democrats overcame a tumultuous campaign period, during which Lee Jae-myung, the party’s leader, survived a suspected assassin’s stab to the spine. The day he was released from the hospital, three members of his group defected, protesting that Lee was running an authoritarian and crooked “regime” within the group. Lee was in court on Tuesday for a hearing hearing about criminal charges against him that he is accused of corruption and various corruption during his time as mayor of Seongnam.
Under Yoon, the PPP’s growing popularity is contributing to the Democratic Party’s waning popularity. Yoon is facing his personal corruption scandal because his wife Kim Keon-hee allegedly accepted a$ 2,200 Dior handbag as an unlawful surprise and soured public opinion against himself by making the claim that the price of green onions was fair during a visit to a retailer.
Voters misinterpreted his observation, which made it clear that the government was forced to intervene to stop the inflation of scallion prices, as an indicator that he was terribly out of touch with the difficulties his country’s ordinary citizens are facing in their economy.
As of Thursday, authorities confirmed the Democrat Party , taking , 161 seats in the 300- chair National Assembly, the national government, and in full controls 175 seats, including associated social parties that compete in the few seats elected via equal representation. The PPP, however, holds 90 chairs and governs 108 when calculating associated parties.
Han Dong-hoon ( R ), the leader of South Korea’s ruling People’s Party ( PPP ), and Korean-based physician John Linton ( L), join hands with Ihn Yohan, the head of the PPP’s innovation committee, at a campaign event held on the eve of the parliamentary elections scheduled for April 9, 2024 in Seoul. ( ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP via Getty Images )
The election attracted the highest voter participation in 32 years, according to the North Korean media firm Yonhap. On Wednesday, an estimated 67 percent of eligible citizens showed up at the elections.
Following the election benefits, Prime Minister Han Duck- so apparently tendered his resignation. Yoon’s business confirmed that all older political aides in positions unrelated to national security had also made an offer to retire. At the push period, it is not clear whether Yoon accepted any or all of the resignations, despite his best efforts.
Han Dong-hoon, the party’s chief, who took over in December and was formerly seen as a rising sun in conservative politics, even resigned. In a media event, Han declared,” the common opinion is always right” and issued a clear explanation for the results of the election.
” On behalf of our group, I apologize for not being chosen by the people. I firmly accept the results ‘ interpretation and am reflecting greatly on myself,” Han said. ” I will move over from my place and assume full responsibility for the poll results.”
I’m hopeful that the democratic transformation promises we made to the electorate may be kept without reversals, he continued.
Political analysis in Korean media suggested Han’s political career was likely over in the near future, but that he might make a comeback after many years of” self-examination.” Han did not specify what he would like to accomplish after leading the PPP in his open comment.
Yoon himself sent a statement about the election to one of the officers who resigned on Thursday, Lee Kwan-seop, who is also one of the chief of staff.
” I will humbly acknowledge the people’s will, as expressed in the public vote, and I will work to reform the administration, do my best to stabilize the economy, and improve people’s lives,” the statement read.
The Democratic Party leader, Lee Jae-myung, appeared to understand that his success was not the result of widespread support for him but instead of negative attitudes toward Yoon.
On the eve of the parliamentary elections in Seoul on April 9, 2024, supporters of South Korea’s ruling People Power Party ( PPP ) demonstrate their phone torches. ( Photo by Anthony WALLACE / AFP )
” The electors ‘ option is a view of the Yoon Suk Yeol supervision”, Lee said on Thursday. ” I will do my best to stop the country’s state politics from deteriorating and make them move toward the prospect after more,” the voters have demanded.
In one of the most intensely contested political contests in current memory, Lee lost to Yoon, the Democratic Party’s nominee for president in 2022.
Given that the opposition has a majority, Yoon will now have to argue with the National Assembly blocking many of his private mission. Yoon wo n’t run for reelection and wo n’t be in government until the end of his presidency, which means he wo n’t be able to do so.
In a report from The , Korea JoongAng Daily, Yoon may experience internal opposition from well-known PPP individuals in the exams who want to avoid being associated with him out of concern it may hurt their reputation.
Some PPP candidates asked the president to cut his political responsibilities and concentrate on state issues even before the election, the paper reported. Yoon’s approval ratings have often fallen below 40 percent since he took office. If the PPP believes its ties to Yoon may threaten its chances of winning the president in 2027, those names will just grow louder.
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