(LEAD) Main opposition takes 3 of 5 seats in Assembly by-elections

(ATTN: UPDATES with reaction from the presidential office, additional information in
paras 7, 14-15)
By Byun Duk-kun

SEOUL, Oct. 29 (Yonhap) -- The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) won a small
but meaningful victory in Wednesday's parliamentary by-elections, taking three of
the five contested seats, including two in the Seoul metropolitan area.
The DP's victory in the Suwon and Ansan districts, south of Seoul, are viewed as
especially meaningful as they are often considered a barometer of public
sentiment because of their relatively neutral political affiliation.
The ruling Grand National Party (GNP) took the remaining two seats, including one
in Gangwon Province, where the main opposition party did not field any candidate.
Its only genuine victory came in its traditional power base, South Gyeongsang
Province, where its former leader, Park Hee-tae, narrowly defeated a DP candidate
to reclaim the seat vacated by a former GNP lawmaker.
The outcome of Wednesday's by-elections put the DP in a comfortable position as
the political parties were set to begin preparations for local elections slated
for June.
"In today's by-elections, we secured the bridgehead for a victory in next year's
local elections," DP chief Rep. Chung Sye-kyun said while declaring victory in
Wednesday's polls.
He then urged the president and the ruling party to change the basis of their
governing ideas, claiming the outcome of the Assembly by-elections represents the
people's wish for a change, if not their dissatisfaction with the government.
Throughout the party's official 13-day campaign, Chung appealed to the people to
send a clear message of their disapproval of what he called the Lee Myung-bak
administration's "self-centered and one-sided rule."
The GNP's only consolation came from the fact that no ruling party, including the
now opposition Democratic Party, has been able to win any seat in recent
parliamentary by-elections.
"I believe the GNP did well in that it ended the ruling party's losing streak in
by-elections," GNP's top strategy and planning official, Rep. Chun Yu-ok, said.
Others acknowledged the GNP's defeat.
"Victories in the Gyeongsang and Gangwon provinces, where public support for the
party has traditionally been strong, cannot be called a victory. The most
important seats were those in the capital area, and our failure to win either of
the two here, in fact, means a defeat," a GNP lawmaker said, asking not to be
identified.
GNP chief Rep. Chung Mong-joon, too, noted the apparent defeat, saying the voters
have given the party both "a stick and a carrot."
"The party will try to be more humble and work harder, taking the people's wish
as its command from the heaven," he told reporters.
Cheong Wa Dae, the presidential office, appeared less willing to call it a
complete loss, which would put strains on the president.
"I believe it is an outcome that holds the people's encouragement for our efforts
to revive the economy, as well as their wish for us to work harder," Park
Hyung-joon, top secretary to the president for political affairs, told Yonhap
News Agency.
With the two additional seats from the by-elections, the GNP now controls 169
seats in the 299-seat unicameral parliament. The DP now has 86 seats.
Wednesday's by-elections ended one of the most heated campaigns in recent years,
as the outcome is seen as a barometer of public opinion on President Lee
Myung-bak, who begins the third year of his single five-year term next year.
Such a heated campaign apparently helped garner a higher-than-expected voter
turnout. Initial tallies by the National Election Commission showed 39 percent or
some 337,000 out of 864,860 eligible voters cast ballots.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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