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April 12, 2024

Resignations tendered at top of South Korean government in wake of parliamentary elections

Dramatic change appears to be afoot at the highest levels of government in one of America's strongest Asian allies.

As Fox News reports, the prime minister and a host of other senior officials in South Korea have offered to tender their resignations in the wake of the parliamentary elections that took place on Wednesday.

Conservatives suffer significant defeat

According to the outlet, South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and a number of high-ranking advisers to President Yoon Suk Yeol announced their willingness to resign after the People Power party sustained serious losses on this week's contest.

The electoral outcome solidifies the liberal party's control of the legislature until the end of Yoon's five-year term, which is scheduled to conclude in 2027.

As a result of the shift, Yoon's influence within his own party will assuredly grow shakier, and his domestic agenda far less certain.

In addition, the years left on Yoon's presidential term are likely to be characterized by growing political and ideological rancor with which he will be forced to contend.

Humbly accepting defeat

As the U.K. Guardian noted, the sobering defeat did not go unacknowledged by the conservative party leaders who had little choice but to acknowledge the disappointing result.

People Power party leader Han Dong-hoon, who headed up his side's political campaign, resigned his post and said, “I apologize to people on behalf of our party, which fell short of receiving people's support.”

Speaking to a cabinet meeting after the results were made official, Han said, “The government will reflect on state affairs to see if there have been any shortcomings in meeting their expectations and devote even more effort to improving people's livelihoods and move forward reform tasks for the country's future.”

Yoon himself said that he “humbly accepted” the will of the voters and also vowed to assist in an overhaul of state affairs.

In the end, the Democratic Party (DP) took 161 of 254 contested seats in Wednesday's election, with the conservative party securing just 90, but with proportional representation distribution taken into account, the DP and its affiliate group received 175 seats, with PP and its satellite group receiving 108.

The outcome, according to the Guardian, is likely to render Yoon a lame duck in terms of domestic affairs for the remainder of his time in office, though he will retain statutory power in the realm of foreign policy and will therefore almost certainly channel his energies in that direction.

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