Classic inappropriate speech from Hwang, the leader of the conservative United Future Party which suffered a crushing defeat in the April 15 national elections. Instead of the crushing defeat for his party reflecting his numerous mistakes, in his view, it is the voters' mistake. Hwang had made a campaign point about making the election a judgement on Moon Jae-in's administration. Instead it turned out to be a judgement on him and his misguided politics. Every effort under his party leadership aimed at obstructing legislation, concealing abuse of power, and protecting the right wing network inside the prosecution office from reform has now failed. Worse, during the campaign in spite of the focus of the coronavirus epidemic, left media, and alternative media, clearly depicted the improper relationship between leadership on the right, the conservative press, and the prosecutor's office, and how it worked to conceal corruption on the right, while improperly framing cases against political opponents.
Hwang Kyo-ahn resigned his position as leader of the UFP. Na Kyung-won, the former Liberty Party Korea floor leader in the assembly also lost her seat. S. Korea will be a better governed country without these unethical and unscrupulous politicians. The far right, Christian religious fundamentalists who provide the base for Hwang and Na and the UFP, continued to assemble in Seoul unlawfully and call for Moon's impeachment during the initial phases of the public health emergency. Hwang and Na's enthusiastic support of these demonstrations and others earlier which illegally obstructed the proceedings of the National Assembly reflected poorly on them, and exposed them as adherents of authoritarian tactics.
President Moon Jae-in's democratic party won an estimated 180 seats in the 300 seat National Assembly. Of those seats, 163 were in district contests and an estimated 17 were proportional seats. The rightest party, the UFP, won 84 district seats and an estimated 19 proportional seats for a total of 103. This is the first time the democrats have won a majority in the legislature as a single party. Furthermore, they have won a super-majority, capable of passing fast track legislation, without support from any other parties. This is a major development in South Korean democratic politics. Needless to say, the expectations of the western alliance, and Japan that Moon would have his "wings clipped," have proven to another case of wishful thinking. Their profound misunderstanding of South Korean politics and Moon Jae-in's party continue.
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