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South Korean Ruling Party Wins Vote Held Amid Virus Fears

Associated Press

   SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - South Korea's ruling liberal party secured a
   resounding victory in parliamentary elections that had the highest
   turnout in nearly three decades, despite the coronavirus forcing social
   distancing at polling places.

   The ruling Democratic Party and a satellite party it created to win
   proportional representative seats combined to win 180 seats in the
   300-seat National Assembly, election officials said Thursday.
   Conservatives suffered their worst showing in the densely populated
   Seoul metropolitan area in years.

   The comfortable majority will likely embolden President Moon Jae-in's
   government to pursue its key domestic and foreign objectives, such as
   reviving diplomacy with nuclear-armed rival North Korea, while it
   grapples with the pandemic that is shuttering businesses and
   threatening livelihoods. Moon thanked the country's "great people" for
   "giving strength to a government that's fighting desperately to
   overcome a national crisis."

   More than 17 million South Koreans voted on Wednesday. When combined
   with the 11.8 million early and mailed-in votes, turnout was 66.2%, the
   highest since 71.9% turnout in a 1992 general election, the National
   Election Commission said.
   WATCH: Bill Gallo's report from Seoul

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