SEOUL: South Korea’s main opposition party and its allies were projected to win a majority in Wednesday’s (Apr 10) elections for the country’s legislature, exit polls showed, in what would mark a significant blow to President Yoon Suk Yeol.
A joint poll released by KBS, MBC and SBS broadcasters estimated that the opposition Democratic Party (DP) and its minor allies could secure between 183 to 197 seats in the single-chamber, 300-seat parliament, and Yoon’s conservative People Power Party (PPP) and its affiliates would win 85 to 100 seats.
Another poll conducted by cable network JTBC showed the opposition camp was likely to get 168 to 193 seats, while it put the PPP coalition on 87 to 111 seats.
The bitterly fought race was seen by some analysts as a referendum on Yoon, whose popularity has suffered amid a cost-of-living crisis and a spate of political scandals.
Vote counting has started and official results are not expected to be released until the early hours of Thursday.
