GNP gives the OOP a 'crushing defeat.' MDP proves that it's not dead yet.

In provincial elections today, President Roh's Our Open Party (OOP) lost all four major races. Unlike many of the Kuk Hoe (National Assembly) elections last April, these weren't even close. Check out the numbers here (sorry no English site has the numbers yet). The GNP decisively won in its home turf in Busan and South Gyeongsang province. They also beat the OOP in the swing province of Jeju where the OOP swept all four assembly seats last month.

In South Jolla Province, The Millinnium Democratic Party's (MDP) Park Jun-young won in a landslide. It would appear that the obituary that I wrote for the MDP after April's election might have been premature.

Nobody is really surprised that the OOP lost in Gyeongsang but it certainly took the momentum out of the their attempt to expand into the GNP's home turf. The Jolla and Jeju loses also had to sting.

The OOP also took a beating in municipal elections across Korea (another Korean link).

Now what?

What will happen now? Well, my first guess is that it will make it even harder for Roh to be able to appoint former South Gyeongsang governor Kim Hyuk-kyu as prime minister. The GNP, MDP and Democratic Labor Party had already signaled their opposition to Kim. Some OOP members had also voiced opposition to Kim (who had defected from the GNP just before April's election). One of the reasons that Roh wanted Kim was to help the OOP break into the GNP's Gyeongsang base. With that plan in a shambles, those in the OOP opposed to Kim will probably redouble their efforts to stop him.

The Jolla victory also gives the MDP a new lease on life. They might now be able to slowly grind away at the OOP in by-elections in Jolla and even pick up a few OOP defecting members in the event that the later party splits up (which I think will happen in about two years). That could put them back on the road towards being the main Jolla-based party after the 2008 elections.

BTW, while trying to get through the Chosun, I learned two new Korean words: 전패 and 완패 both mean "crushing defeat."

(UPDATE: The OOP can console themselves with the realization that their "crushing defeat" may have been caused at least in part by low voter turn out. According to Yonhap, turn out was only about 28%:

Voter turnout for Saturday's local government and legislature by-elections was among the lowest in recent years as the vote was held on the weekend when people tend to go sightseeing and engage in leisure activities.

I guess that is one problem with depending on kiddies for your electoral base. Maybe they were all out cheering for the Korean soccer team.)

UPDATE: Here is an article from the Chosun in English.

Comments

[Elysion]

btw....do you like park geun hye ? i really love her...she is such a warm-hearted and friendly person..