Voting begins in South Korea parliamentary elections

Voting started Thursday in the South Korean elections

April 13, 2000
Web posted at: 10:02 a.m. HKT (0202 GMT)

SEOUL, South Korea -- Voting has begun across South Korea in parliamentary elections that observers say are critical to the country's economic and political future.

The elections come amid now-robust economic performance, as well as on the heels of the announcement of improved ties with North Korea.

Rival candidates made last-ditch appeals for votes as the world focused on the first-ever summit between the two Koreas.

AUDIO Yonsei University's Lee Chong-Min comments on the upcoming summit 106k/9 sec. AIFF or WAV sound     RESOURCES TIME: 'North Korea Has to Work With Us' TIME: Verdict On Kim Asiaweek: Evaluating Kim Asiaweek: The (Korean) Art of Politics as Usual Details on South Korea's election candidates     MESSAGE BOARD North and South Korea

Up to 40 percent of voters were still undecided about Thursday's election, but many analysts agreed that the summit announced Monday was tipping the scale toward President Kim Dae-jung's party.

"It's clear that the ruling party is reaping benefits from the South-North summit and will likely to emerge as a majority force in the new parliament," said the Munhwa Ilbo, a major newspaper.

Kim's Millennium Democratic Party was a minority in the outgoing parliament, and recent public surveys had it and the main opposition Grand National Party in a tight race before the summit announcement.

"The South-North summit, announced only three days before the election, is a despicable political conspiracy," said Lee Hoi-chang, head of the opposition party.

Despite the obvious benefits from the summit, analysts said that the ruling party is unlikely to emerge as an absolute majority force in the new parliament. That will force it to find a coalition partner.

A total of 1,040 candidates are vying for 227 seats to be filled by direct vote. Another 46 members will be chosen by proportional representation counting the total number of votes to each party.

Plans for a summit between North and South Korea were announced earlier this week, marking the biggest diplomatic step forward on the tense Korean peninsula in half a century

In the election, Kim is seeking a mandate for his economic reforms and engagement with the North's communist government.

"The two issues are matters of grave concern to international policymakers and pundits," said Kim Kyong-won, a political and diplomatic analyst.

The summit has considerably muzzled opposition criticism that Kim's engagement policy has failed to produce concessions from the North.

Analysts say talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, scheduled for June 12-14 in the North's capital of Pyongyang, could encourage those with families in North Korea to vote for the ruling party.

Millions of North Koreans immigrated to South Korea after the 1945 division of the Korean peninsula and during the 1950-53 Korean War, and most have lost touch with their families in the North.

Analysts say President Kim Dae-jung's decision to engage North Korea in summit talks may boost the Millennium Democratic Party's chances of winning the election

President Kim has publicly said reunions of those separated family members will top the agenda.

Only 50 people from each Korea were allowed to cross the border in 1985 for the first temporary family reunions. No further reunions have since been arranged because of military and political tensions. The Korean border, the world's most heavily armed, is sealed with nearly 2 million troops deployed on both sides.

Another pressing issue for Kim's 2-year-old government is the reform of South Korea's inefficient economic systems, especially its family-owned conglomerates, or chaebol. About a dozen of the conglomerates collapsed under debts in 1997, forcing South Korea to accept a record $58 billion bailout package from the International Monetary Fund.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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CIA World Factbook 1999: North Korea
North Korea: Politics & Government (University of Oregon)
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