South Korea's Ruling Party Defeated in Elections
Vocabulary
Repeat each word, definition, and example sentence after your tutor.
crushing
Adjective
ˈkrʌʃɪŋ
causing great disappointment or embarrassment
The team suffered a crushing defeat at their home stadium last week.
agenda
Noun
əˈdʒɛndə
a list of things to be done or problems to be solved
Addressing poverty is high on this government's agenda.
resignation
Noun
ˌrɛzɪgˈneɪʃən
an act of leaving a job or position; a document saying one intends to leave one's job
His resignation came as a surprise to everyone.
incapacitated
Adjective
ˌɪnkəˈpasɪteɪtɪd
having had one's strength or power taken away
His condition has left him temporarily incapacitated and in need of full-time care.
turnout
Noun
ˈtɜːrnaʊt
the number of people who vote in an election
Voting is compulsory in Singapore which is why voter turnout is always very high.
tentatively
Adverb
ˈtɛntətɪvli
not definite, or needing further confirmation
I've tentatively booked a DJ for the party but I'm still waiting for the venue to confirm the date.
Article
South Korea's Ruling Party Defeated in Elections
South Korea's prime minister and senior presidential officials all offered to resign on April 11 after their ruling party suffered a crushing defeat in parliamentary elections in a huge blow to conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol.
The results of the elections on April 10 mean the liberal opposition forces will prolong their control of parliament until after Yoon completes his single five-year term in 2027. That will likely set back Yoon's domestic agenda and weaken his grip on the ruling party during his remaining three years in office.
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and all senior presidential advisers to Yoon, except those in charge of security issues, submitted their resignations, according to Yoon's office. It didn't immediately say whether Yoon accepted their resignations.
Executive power in South Korea is heavily concentrated in the president, but the prime minister is the number two official and leads the country if the president becomes incapacitated.
With all of the votes counted, the main opposition Democratic Party and its satellite party won a combined 175 seats in the 300-member National Assembly. Another small liberal opposition party won 12 seats, according to the National Election Commission.
Yoon's ruling People Power Party and its satellite party obtained 108 seats, the election commission said.
Regardless of the results, Yoon will stay in power and his major foreign policies will likely be unchanged. But the elections were widely seen as a midterm confidence vote on Yoon, who took office in 2022.
Yoon has pushed hard to boost cooperation with the United States and Japan as a way to address a mix of tough security and economic challenges. But he has struggled with low approval ratings at home and a liberal opposition-controlled National Assembly that has limited his major policy platforms.
Yoon has been accused of failing to deal with soaring prices, refusing to quickly fire officials involved in scandals, and lacking efforts to communicate with opposition leaders for policy coordination.
The final voter turnout for South Korea's 44 million eligible voters was tentatively estimated at 67%, the highest for a parliamentary election since 1992, according to the electoral commission.
Discussion
Have a discussion based on the following questions.
1.
What are your thoughts on the results of the South Korean election?
2.
Do you think President Yoon will accept the resignations?
3.
When was the last election in your country? Was the result close?
4.
Is voter turnout typically high for elections in your country?
5.
How is your country's ruling party viewed by the public currently?