'미니총선' 재보궐선거... 여야 사활 걸었다
Next week when Koreans head to the polls, by-elections will also be held.
With twelve parliamentary seats up for grabs, the results could lead to a change in the balance of power at the National Assembly.
Kim Min-ji turns the spotlight on how things are shaping up in the domestic political arena.
President Moon Jae-in took office with one hand tied behind his back politically,... with his party holding less than a majority of seats in parliament from the get go.
As a result, his policy agendas have been difficult to implement.
Both the government's annual budget and supplementary budget were passed only after an arduous process,... and plans to amend the Constitution also fell through.
This is why the ruling Democratic Party of Korea wants to win as many seats as possible during this year's by-elections.
Twelve seats are up for grabs -- and given the number of seats,... and their distribution across the nation -- it's being dubbed a mini-general election.
Three of the seats were held by the ruling party,... four by the main opposition Liberty Korea Party,... three by the former People's Party -- now the centrist Bareun Mirae Party -- while the remaining were held by other minor parties.
Currently, the ruling party has 118 seats in the National Assembly, while the main opposition holds 113.
If the ruling party wins the elections by a landslide,... it would get a boost when passing bills it supports,... and will also have a greater say over the shaping of the second half of the 20th National Assembly.
This as the party that comes out on top will be able to select the parliamentary speaker,... and has the upper hand when it comes to choosing the heads of the National Assembly's standing committees.
Recent polls show candidates from the ruling party in the lead,... with the exception of Gimcheon, a traditional conservative district in the south of the country,... where the ruling party didn't put forward a candidate.
However, the main opposition is hoping that it will be able to hold on to the districts that were initially conservative-held,... as well as make some gains such as in the Songpa District, where there is believed to be quite a number of conservative-leaning voters.
But as the by-elections are held alongside the local elections this time around,... the general consensus is that the results will favor the ruling party,... thanks to the government's high approval rating,... buoyed by positive developments regarding North Korea.
However, some point out that this could lead to problems in the long run.
"Because the Moon administration is dealing with such an important issue for the Korean peninsula... many voters want to support his peace drive. But if things don't go well,... it could mean disaster for the ruling party in two years time when the general elections are held. Also, for a country's political development,... there needs to be a balance between progressives and conservat
