South Korea began a new political era yesterday after the liberal Uri party won a major election victory that ended conservative control of parliament and gave a vote of support to the impeached president.
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 sent him into a political limbo 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 co-existence 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 reformist legislation long stalled by opponents.
"Uri" means "our" in Korean, and the party's full name means "Our Open Party."
One cloud over the election came with the prosecutors office saying it was investigating 53 newly-elected members of parliament for violations of election laws, but said the party affiliation was confidential. After the 2000 election, about 10 legislators were stripped of their seats for infractions.
One of the most momentous shifts in policy could come if Uri and Roh -- if he is reinstated by the Constitutional Court -- change the emphasis in ties with the US, Seoul's ally for half a century, altering plans to send troops to Iraq and dealings with North Korea's nuclear threat.
The party's policy chief suggested a rethink on Seoul's decision to send 3,000 troops to help the US-led effort in Iraq was possible if the fighting worsened there.
"We've committed to a mission of peace and reconstruction, and it's still possible we'll be able to do that. But if the situation deteriorates seriously, we might have to think about it again," Chung Sye-kyun told reporters, referring to the deployment.
Newspapers described the election outcome as a generation shift from those who dragged the country from the ruins of the 1950-to-1953 Korean War to those who grew up as South Korea secured its place as Asia's fourth-largest economy.
The Uri Party won 152 seats in the 299-seat National Assembly, the National Election Commission said.
The opposition Grand National Party won 121 seats, down from the 133 it had in the last parliament, which it dominated.
A sea warning for Typhoon Champi could be issued as early as Wednesday night, possibly followed by a land warning on Thursday night or Friday, as the storm approaches Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The typhoon is expected to have its greatest impact on Taiwan on Friday and Saturday, bringing heavy rain to central and northern Taiwan and to Yilan and Hualien counties in the east, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. As of 2pm yesterday, Champi was about 2,470km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving westnorthwest at 20kph. It had maximum sustained winds of 191kph and a
EAST OF GUAM: Tropical Storm Champi is forecast to strengthen into a typhoon, but its effect on Taiwan is uncertain due to the presence of a high-pressure system Tropical Storm Champi formed yesterday and has the potential to increase in strength, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Forecasters are closely monitoring a Pacific high-pressure system that would dictate whether the storm turns north or moves toward Taiwan next week, the CWA said. The most likely scenario is that it turns northward after passing the Ryukyu Islands, CWA forecaster Cheng Chieh-jen (鄭傑仁) said. As of 8pm yesterday, Champi was east of Guam moving west-northwest at 20kph, CWA data showed. It had maximum sustained winds near the center of 72kph and gusts of up to 101kph, the data showed. If the Pacific high-pressure system
FRIDAY, SATURDAY: While Typhoon Champi might weaken, officials warned about large waves, while some transport services and tourist spots have been affected Typhoon Champi is forecast to have the greatest effect on Taiwan tomorrow and on Saturday, with a sea warning issued late last night and a land warning expected afternoon today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm’s projected track has shifted slightly westward and it could begin moving away from Taiwan toward Japan’s Kyushu island on Saturday, with the warnings potentially lifted as early as Saturday afternoon, CWA forecaster Chang Cheng-chuan (張承傳) said. As of yesterday afternoon, Champi was about 910km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, CWA data showed. Its maximum sustained winds had weakened slightly to
ORIGINS: A Taiwanese doctor practicing in Japan said he no longer needed to cover the nationality label on his license with a sticker, as it used to confuse his patients Starting this month, Taiwanese professionals working in Japan can list “Taiwan” as their place of origin following Tokyo’s easing of rules on “nationality” in official licensing documents. The change was announced yesterday by the Japan-Taiwan Friendship Parliamentarians’ League in Tokyo. The license revision covers 322 professions, including doctors and nurses. Previously, Taiwanese had to list “China” as their nationality on professional certifications and licenses, but the new rules updated the “nationality” to “nationality and region” or “nationality, etc,” allowing Taiwanese to use the name “Taiwan.” The league held a meeting about the revision at the House of Representatives Members’ Office Building in Tokyo
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