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.
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