尹政権、レームダック化不可避 最大野党に惨敗

【ソウルＡＦＰ＝時事】韓国総選挙（定数３００、１０日投票）は１１日、開票作業が終了し、革新系の最大野党・共に民主党が単独過半数の１７５議席（改選前１５６）を獲得し圧勝した。尹錫悦（ユン・ソンニョル）大統領の保守系与党・国民の力は系列政党を含めて１０８議席（同１１４）にとどまり、惨敗した。尹氏は任期を３年残しているが、レームダック（死に体）化が避けられない情勢となった。（写真は、韓国総選挙の結果を受け、ソウルにある党本部での記者会見に臨む与党「国民の力」を率いる韓東勲非常対策委員長〈右〉）
　地元メディアによると、国民の力が惨敗したのを受け、与党トップの韓東勲（ハン・ドンフン）氏や韓悳洙（ハン・ドクス）首相ら幹部が辞意を表明した。
　李官燮（イ・グァンソプ）大統領秘書室長によれば、尹氏は「総選挙で示された民意を謙虚に受け止めて国政を刷新し、経済と国民生活の安定化に向け最善を尽くす」と語った。
　しかし、明知大学の申律（シン・ユル）教授は、総選挙では超タカ派的な立場から尹政権を批判する候補が相次いで当選した点を挙げ、「超党派間の協力は容易ではないだろう」と予想する。
　韓国は経済格差の拡大や住宅価格高騰、若年層の失業増といった問題を抱えており、保守系紙・朝鮮日報は、尹氏は就任以来「最大の政治危機」に直面していると論評した。
　一方、地滑り的勝利を収めた共に民主党の李在明（イ・ジェミョン）代表は１１日朝、記者団に対し「これは共に民主党の勝利ではなく、国民のための偉大な勝利だ」と述べた。
　共に民主党は、若い世帯への現金給付、学校制服の無償化、出産支援金支給といった公約が支持されたとみられる。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/04/11-20:14）

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol promised reform and the head of his ruling party resigned on Thursday after a disastrous election increased the opposition's stranglehold on parliament.
In addition to People Power Party (PPP) leader Han Dong-hoon, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and a string of senior aides also offered to step down, local media said.
The result has turned Yoon into a lame duck president for the remaining three years in office -- making him the first South Korean president whose party has not controlled the legislature at any point in their tenure.
It's likely to lead to extreme confrontation and gridlock, said Shin Yul, professor of political science at Myongji University.
It won't be easy for people to see bipartisan cooperation, he told AFP.
Yoon, 63, has taken a tough line with the nuclear-armed North while improving ties with Washington and former colonial occupier Japan.
But the former prosecutor is unloved among voters, with many angry at inequality, sky-high housing prices and youth unemployment in the nation of 51 million people.
The opposition also hammered Yoon after he called the price of green onions, a staple in Korean cooking, reasonable and a video of his wife accepting a $2,200 designer handbag was widely circulated.
I will humbly honour the will of the people expressed in the general election, reform the state affairs, and do my best to stabilise the economy and people's livelihood, Yoon said, according to his chief of staff Lee Kwan-sup.
With all votes counted Thursday, results from the National Election Commission and major broadcasters showed Yoon's conservative People Power Party (PPP) and its satellite sliding from 114 seats in parliament to just 108.
The big winners were Lee Jae-myung's Democratic Party (DP) and its partner, which saw their seat tally rise to 175 from 156 in the outgoing legislature.
The newly-founded Rebuilding Korea party, led by former justice minister Cho Kuk, capitalised on discontent with the two main parties to pick up 12 seats.
The landslide was, however, less emphatic than suggested by exit polls, with all opposition parties combined falling short of a super-majority of 200 seats in the 300-strong National Assembly.
Cho said Thursday one of his first orders of business would be to table legislation calling for a probe into the president's wife, who has been repeatedly accused of malfeasance by opposition politicians.
I say it once again: Summon (First Lady) Kim Keon Hee and conduct an investigation immediately. This is the final warning, he said.
- Lee's glee -
The result is sweet revenge for Lee, 60, who narrowly lost a presidential election to Yoon in 2022 and in January was stabbed in the neck while on the campaign trail.
This isn't the Democratic Party's victory but a great victory for the people, the former factory worker said Thursday morning.
Lee has won support for policies including cash handouts to young adults, free school uniforms and maternity care.
He may now have another shot at the top job.
But critics call the former human rights lawyer a populist and point to a string of corruption allegations hanging over him that he has dismissed as politically motivated.
The challenges Lee and DP face currently lurk more in the long run than in the short run. The popular support the party is currently garnering anchors on the overall discontent with Yoon, said Byunghwan Son, professor at George Mason University.
It remains to be seen if the popular support can be sustained, he told AFP.
- Yoon's gloom -
Yoon had hoped the PPP would win a majority in parliament and push through his legislative agenda.
This includes planned healthcare reforms -- that are backed by voters but have sparked a crippling strike by doctors -- and a pledge to abolish the ministry of gender equality.
But the election results represent Yoon's biggest political crisis since he took power, the conservative daily newspaper Chosun Ilbo said.
Even though the opposition missed out on a supermajority -- two-thirds control of the parliament would have allowed them to try and impeach Yoon -- the president remains in a precarious position.
If Yoon can't find a way to work with the opposition, there is a likelihood of impeachment, which some factions in the ruling party may comply with for the sake of their own political futures, Chae Jin-won of Humanitas College at Kyung Hee University told AFP.
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