Photo: Democratic Party chairman Lee Jae-myung (center) celebrates the General Election win. Credit: The Hankyoreh.
With over 97% of the votes counted in the General Election 총선, the Democratic Party 민주당, the Rebuilding Korea Party 조국혁신당 and other minor progressive parties are on track to win 188 seats out of 300 in the National Assembly 국회, replicating the landslide victory they enjoyed in the 2020 General Election.
The ruling People Power Party 국민의힘 is likely to win 109 seats, barely holding onto the one-third minimum required to stave off presidential impeachment and constitutional amendment after the exit polls indicated that the PPP may fall below 100 seats. The defeat makes Yoon Suk-yeol 윤석열 the first South Korean president to spend his entire five-year term in the legislative minority, all but guaranteeing his lame duck status.
The RKP, a third party launched by former Justice Minister Cho Kuk 조국 전 법무부장관, is likely to win 12 seats. The New Reform Party 개혁신당, a conservative party splintered from the PPP, is likely to win have three Assembly members, including the incel leader Lee Jun-seok 이준석 who won his race in Gyeonggi-do Province Hwaseong B District 경기도 화성 을.
Two minor leftist parties, New Future Party 새로운미래 and the Progressive Party 진보당, each won one race in districts where the Democratic Party did not field a candidate. The Green Justice Party 녹색정의당 failed to gain a single seat, after having been the third largest party in the National Assembly with six seats won in 2020.
The final turnout for the General Election was 67.0%, the highest in since 1992 and up from 66.2% in the 2020 General Election. The PPP performed better than expected in the Seoul metropolitan area, with heavyweights like Na Gyeong-won 나경원 and An Cheol-su 안철수 narrowly defeating their Democratic challengers. But the conservatives lost ground in the central region of Daejeon 대전 and Chuncheong-do Provinces 충청도,
