| Edited to the new stuff; see Dan's article below for more. |
The drubbing for President Roh Moo-hyun's liberal Uri Party leaves him in a weak position to advance his agenda of economic reforms and closer ties with North Korea for the little under two years he has left in his term, analysts said. It also puts the conservative opposition Grand National Party (GNP) in the driver's seat ahead of the December 2007 presidential election and parliamentary polls the following year.
Uri party leader Chung Dong-young, a possible presidential contender, told reporters he was quitting to take responsibility for the loss.
The GNP, riding a wave of sympathy for its leader who was slashed in the face during the campaign, and disenchantment over the economy, won 12 of 16 major races for mayors and provincial governors in Wednesday's elections. The GNP won the biggest race, that for mayor of Seoul, where about one in five South Koreans live.
Uri, which translates as "us". picked up just one seat, the National Election Commission reported. The smaller Democratic Party won two of the major regional races and an independent won the final race, it said.