President Park Geun Hye’s ruling party was routed in South Korea’s parliamentary elections as voters frustrated over rising joblessness and the president’s leadership denied her a majority and dampened her economic reform plans.
The opposition Minjoo Party won 123 seats in the 300-seat National Assembly on Wednesday, edging out the ruling Saenuri Party’s 122 seats, according to final results from the National Election Commission. Pre-election polls showed Saenuri extending its hold, with some media outlets projecting the possibility of a 180-seat super-majority that would’ve let Park fast-track legislation. The People’s Party secured 38 seats.
The Korean won fell 0.8 percent, with yields on 10-year bonds rising on the prospect of more gridlock of the sort Park has encountered in the first three years of her five-year term. The benchmark Kospi Index surged 1.2 percent, poised to close at its highest level since December, as Korean stocks were caught up in a global rally unrelated to the election.