PM says gov't will 'humbly' accept general election results
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo speaks during a Cabinet meeting held at Government Complex Seoul, April 11. Yonhap
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Thursday the government will "humbly" accept the results of the parliamentary elections and more actively cooperate with the opposition-controlled National Assembly.
Han made the remark as the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) scored a landslide victory in Wednesday's general elections in another major setback for the ruling People Power Party (PPP) and President Yoon Suk Yeol.
"The government will humbly accept the will of the people expressed in the parliamentary elections," Han said during a Cabinet meeting held at Government Complex Seoul.
"The government will reflect on the overall state affairs to see if there have been any shortcomings in meeting their expectations and devote even more efforts to improve people's livelihoods and move forward reform tasks for the country's future," he added.
With almost all votes counted, the DPK won 161 out of 254 directly contested seats, while the PPP won only 90 seats. Including proportional seats, the DPK and its satellite party had secured 174 seats and the PPP and its satellite party 108 seats in the 300-member parliament as of 9:40 a.m. The official results will be released later in the day.
Han said the government will step up cooperation with the new members of the National Assembly, which is set to begin a four-year term next month.
"We will engage in more dialogue and deepen cooperation with the 22nd National Assembly to be newly formed, and reflect the opinion of people as partners of state affairs," Han said. (Yonhap)