Wednesday, April 9, 2008 The 18th National Assembly Elections

In the 18th Election of the National Assembly members, the ruling and opposition parties were competing to secure an advantageous position in the political arena as it was held immediately after the 17th presidential election, in which the government was replaced in 10 years in 2007. Unlike the previous election with controversial issues such as the inter-Korean summit talks and presidential impeachment, no great political issues were raised in this election, leading to a relatively peaceful competition. The ruling party advocated “Political Stability” and the opposition camp put forward “Checks against Big Ruling Party.”
A total of 17 political parties, the largest number ever, participated in this election. But each party nominated close to the candidate registration deadline, due to a conflict surrounding nomination within the party. As a result, policy debate among candidates was lacking and voters were also in lack of time to examine policy details or pledges.
The Grand National Party secured 153 seats, taking the majority, while the United Democratic Party won 81 seats. The Advancement Unification Party took 18, the Future Hope Alliance won 13, the Democratic Labor Party held 5, the Creative Korea Party won 3 and non-partisan candidates held 26 seats.