Ruling party candidates struggling in by-elections

SEOUL, April 29 (Yonhap) -- Candidates of the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) were trailing their independent and opposition rivals in the parliamentary by-elections held in five electoral districts nationwide Wednesday.

Independents are leading in three of the five districts, while candidates from
the main opposition Democratic Party and the minority New Progressive Party are
overpowering their GNP rivals in the remaining two districts.
With 54 percent of votes counted as of 10:40 p.m., Hong Young-pyo of the DP has
garnered 50 percent in the swing district of Bupyeong, Incheon, while Lee
Jae-hoon of the GNP secured 39.3 percent. The district west of Seoul is regarded
as a critical constituency because of its proximity to the capital.
Jeong Jong-bok, a GNP candidate with 34.8 percent of the vote, was trailing
independent candidate Chung Soo-sung, aligned with former GNP Chairwoman Park
Geun-hye, by a margin of over 10 percentage points, in the Gyeongju district of
North Gyeongsang Province.
The ruling party's failure to win any of the five contested seats, if confirmed,
would likely deal a serious blow to President Lee Myung-bak's drive to reform the
public sector and revive the sagging economy.

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