S. Korea enters new political era after election
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-04-16 13:46

South Korea began a new political era on Friday after a liberal party won a resounding election victory that ended conservative control of parliament and gave a vote of support to the impeached president.

U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney (R) meets South Korean Prime Minister and acting President Goh Kun, in Seoul, April 16, 2004. Cheney is in Seoul for a two-day visit as part of a week-long Asia tour.  [Reuters]

The Uri Party captured a majority in Thursday's election on a groundswell of support for President Roh Moo-hyun, tripling its seats at the expense of the parties that ousted him last month for violating a minor election law.

"Our people wrote a new history of elections," Acting President Goh Kun said in a televised address. "With this election, I hope a new era of politics of coexistence and cooperation will be born."

Goh, who is interim leader until the Constitutional Court rules on the impeachment vote, said the government and all political parties should concentrate on reviving the economy.

Thursday's election marked the first time a left-leaning or liberal party had won control of a hitherto conservative chamber and meant the pro-Roh Uri Party could push through legislation long stalled by opponents. "Uri" means "our" in Korean.

The government has called for pending draft bills to be prepared for when parliament convenes in early June.

It was not clear what draft bills would be presented first, but the Uri Party has said measures to boost the economy and enhance corporate transparency are priorities. Legislation on labor reform is also pending.

Newspapers described the election outcome as a generation shift from those who dragged the country from the ruins of the 1950-53 Korean War to those who grew up as South Korea secured its place as Asia's fourth-largest economy.

"Many Koreans must have woken up this morning to find that the nation's political landscape has undergone a major quake," said the English-language Korea Herald in an editorial.

MARKETS UNFAZED

Editorials also focused on a widespread desire for more consensual politics after the unseemly scenes of scuffling in parliament when Roh was impeached on March 12.

The Uri Party won 152 seats in the 299-seat National Assembly, Yonhap news agency and KBS television reported with almost all the votes counted.

"I think the election results reflected well what the public wants," said taxi driver Jong Hae-ryang, 51. "The impeachment shouldn't have happened and I'm really tired of politicians fighting all the time. I hope they do better this time."

The stock market opened lower on Friday on profit-taking that reflected recent losses on Wall Street as well as the election. The won and government bonds were largely unaffected by the vote.

A senior finance ministry official told Reuters there would be no change in South Korea's foreign exchange policy until there is a clear improvement in domestic consumption, which lags the country's booming export sector.

Foreign investors and the opposition conservative Grand National Party have said they fear the Uri Party could use a majority to indulge militant labor and push a radical agenda.

Others worry that Uri and Roh, if he is reinstated by the Constitutional Court, could change the emphasis in ties with the United States, its ally for half a century, and in dealing with North Korea's nuclear threat and plans to send troops to Iraq.

Roh, who came to office as a standard-bearer for change, played no part in the election.

A 57-year-old former labor lawyer with no university degree, Roh has a down-to-earth style and liberal mindset that differs from his predecessors at the presidential Blue House.

His powers have been suspended until the court rules on whether to uphold parliament's impeachment vote. Although the Constitutional Court is independent, many analysts believe the nine judges will take the election result into account and vote to reinstate Roh.

Results on television stations put the Grand National Party on 121 seats, down from the 133 it had in the last parliament, when it dominated the chamber.

The third largest party was the leftist Democratic Labour Party, with 10 seats. The Millennium Democratic Party, which initiated last month's vote to impeach Roh, captured a mere nine seats. Small parties and independents won seven seats.

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