ELECTION Ex-PM suffers crushing defeat

Former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon is interviewed by reporters at his campaign office in Gwangju, April 10. Yonhap

Lee Nak-yon, a veteran politician and a former prime minister, suffered a crushing defeat in Wednesday's parliamentary elections held after he quit the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and created a new party of his own.

With about 70 percent of the vote counted as of 2 a.m., Lee won only 14 percent against his DP rival Min Hyung-bae's 76 percent in the Gwangsan-B district in the southeastern city of Gwangju, a stronghold of the DPK.

The former four-term lawmaker left the DPK in January in protest of the way Chairman Lee Jae-myung runs the party. He ran in a different electoral district in Gwangju, a traditional liberal stronghold, instead of his hometown in the city's Yeonggwang County where he was elected four times.

"I would like to express my gratitude to the citizens of Gwangju although my defeat is certain," Lee said. "In any case, I will humbly accept the message of the Gwangju citizens."

With Lee's defeat, the fate of his New Future Party (Saemirae) is set to fall into uncertainty, as the party was projected to win only one out of the 300 seats up for grabs, according to exit polls. (Yonhap)