SEOUL (AFP) — The conservative party of South Korea's new president won an overall majority in Wednesday's parliamentary election, giving him the power to push through sweeping reforms to revitalise Asia's fourth largest economy.
With counting virtually complete, MBC TV and state broadcaster KBS forecast 153 seats for Lee Myung-Bak's Grand National Party (GNP) in the 299-seat National Assembly.
It predicted 81 for the liberal United Democratic Party (UDP), previously the largest party, which suffered a crushing defeat as the nation swung decisively rightwards.
Latest official National Election Commission results with 18 seats to be declared gave the GNP 147 seats, the UDP 75 and minor parties and independents the remainder -- meaning the GNP was certain of a majority.
The commission said technical problems were delaying declaration of the final official result.
GNP leader Kang Jae-Sup said people gave his party a majority "in hopes of national unity and of revitalising the economy."
Lee, a former business executive campaigning on an "Economy, First!" platform, won by a landslide over his liberal opponent in last December's presidential poll.
His GNP wanted a legislative majority to enact business-friendly reforms such as deregulation and tax cuts to reinvigorate the economy, after a decade of relatively modest growth under liberal presidents.
Lee and his party also pledged to get tougher with communist North Korea following a 10-year "sunshine" engagement policy -- a promise which has enraged Pyongyang.
On Wednesday Pyongyang's official media, in its latest broadside against what it called Lee's "group of traitors," accused them of trying to fuel confrontation by raising the North's human rights record.
Analysts say voters appeared largely to have shrugged off the angry rhetoric.
The UDP had effectively conceded defeat even before the election, saying its goal was to secure 100 seats to block any moves to change the constitution.
Turnout was 46 percent of the 37.7 million-strong electorate, a record low for a general election.
"I think the low turnout has created a crisis for democracy," said UDP chief Sohn Hak-Kyu, apparently anguished by the scale of the defeat.
"If the Grand National Party emerges as a gigantic ruling party as forecast, that will give us a great responsibility to keep it in check."
Chung Dong-Young, the UDP's unsuccessful presidential candidate in December, suffered another crushing blow along with his party when he failed to win a parliamentary seat.
His party is "now on the verge of extinction," he said.
"Liberals appear to have suffered a humiliating defeat," said Sungkyunkwan University political science professor Kim Il-Young earlier in the evening.
But they should blame their unappealing election platform rather than the turnout, he told AFP.
The National Election Commission, in an unprecedented move, had offered voters incentives -- discounted entry fees to museums, parks and cultural facilities -- to go to the polls.
But Koreans appeared to be suffering election fatigue after the presidential poll. In addition, internal party feuds had delayed candidate selection and given them little time to appeal to the electorate.
Lee urged people to turn out after himself voting in Seoul's Jongno district.
"The situation is not so favourable but I'll do my best in my job," he said in apparent reference to the global credit crisis, which has dented his hopes of achieving six percent growth this year.
At a polling station in Seoul's Bangbae district, Kang Hyo-Shik, 33, told AFP he voted for the GNP "so that the president may push through with a drive to reactivate the economy."
A 65-year-old who identified himself only as Lim said the new government must be given a chance to deliver on its promise to resuscitate the economy. "Under the past governments, egalitarianism and unionism were too strong."
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