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S Korea voters enticed to polls South Korea's GNP wins majority
(1 day later)
South Koreans are voting in a parliamentary election amid forecasts of the lowest turnout since the end of military rule 20 years ago. South Korea's ruling conservative party has won an overall majority by a narrow margin in parliamentary elections.
The country's electoral commission is trying to lure voters to the polls with discount tickets to parks and museums. Early results from the National Election Commission show the Grand National Party (GNP) has won at least 153 seats in the 299-seat legislature.
It comes little more than three months after President Lee Myung-bak's hard-fought election campaign. The victory is a boost for the new President Lee Myung-bak and will make it easier for him to pass his wide-ranging economic reforms.
He is seeking the parliamentary majority he needs to pass his promised raft of sweeping reforms. Official figures show voter turnout was a record low of 46%.
But there may be signs of voter fatigue with turnout for these national assembly elections expected to be around 50% - the lowest since South Korea held its first genuinely democratic election two decades ago. This was partly due to voter fatigue, reports the BBC's John Sudworth in Seoul, but also to the disarray in the GNP, which has been mired in factional infighting for the first months of Mr Lee's presidency.
In addition, President Lee's first few months have been marred by bitter factional fighting within his own Grand National Party. 'National unity'
The rival United Democratic Party will be hoping to capitalise on these troubles. Latest figures show Mr Lee's GNP party took 131 local district races, and another 22 seats in party-list proportional voting.
Both parties will be fighting for every available vote, but they may be in short supply. They also show that the liberal United Democratic Party (UDP), previously the largest party in the national assembly, has secured 81 seats. It had been hoping for 100 seats.
Smaller parties and independents will share the remaining seats.
GNP leader Kang Jae-sup said people had voted for them in the hope of "national unity and revitalising the economy".
The parliamentary polls come little more than three months after Mr Lee's victory in a hard-fought presidential election.
Mr Lee campaigned on a platform of economic reform and revitalisation - but needed control of parliament to pass the changes. He also promised a tougher stance on North Korea.
"I believe the opinion of the people will be well reflected in this election, which will help our nation's development," he said as he cast his vote.
At a polling station in Seoul's Bangbae district Kang Hyo-Shik, 33, told news agency AFP he voted for the GNP "so that the president may push through with a drive to reactivate the economy".