Roundup: Exit polls show S. Korea's ruling party losing majority in parliamentary election

Exit polls on South Korea's parliamentary election on Wednesday showed that President Park Geun-hye's ruling party possibly losing a majority in the National Assembly, an unexpected result that may hamper the president's economic reform drive.

According to exit polls by three South Korean TV networks, including KBS, MBC and SBS, the ruling Saenuri Party was expected to win 118 to 147 seats in the 300-seat parliament.

The main opposition Minjoo Party was expected to take 97 to 128 parliamentary seats, while the newly launched People's Party was forecast to gain 31 to 43 seats in the new assembly.

The People's Party was created earlier this year by those who defected from Minjoo, including former Minjoo Party co-chairman Ahn Cheol-soo widely seen as a potential candidate for next year's presidential election.

It was an unexpected result as many of political pundits predicted a landslide victory of Park's conservative party over the main opposition party that has been embroiled in factional infighting and has resulted in its division into two.

Ballots began to be counted after the voting ended at 6:00 p.m. local time. Final results would be made clear early Thursday.

Saenuri's failure to regain its parliamentary majority is expected to jeopardize the state management of Park, whose five-year single term will expire in early 2018. The next presidential election will be held in late 2017.

Pending at the National Assembly are many economic reform bills, which Park has been pushing for from her early presidency but has failed to pass through the parliament amid strong opposition from the archrival Minjoo Party.

The reform bills include labor reform, which is condemned by workers as it is worried that a labor reform bill may increase flexibility and weaken job security in the labor market by making it easier for companies to dismiss employees, a claim flatly denied by the Park government.

Unexpected exit polls were partly attributable to a higher voter turnout that tends to benefit opposition parties.

The National Election Commission estimated that 58 percent of 42 million voters turned out to vote in the 20th parliamentary election, higher than 54.2 percent tallied in the previous election.

South Korea's electorate is divided among generations, with those in their 20s to 40s having a more liberalist inclination of politics and voting for opposition parties.

A smaller number of younger-generation voters usually show up in polling stations than conservative older voters who favor Saenuri.

South Koreans may have been disappointed at Park's economic policy as the export-driven economy has been stagnant with a drop in exports, a high unemployment rate especially among those under 30 and massive household debts continuing to break record highs.

Conservative voters might turn their backs to the ruling party because Saenuri also suffered from factional infighting in the course of parliamentary candidate nomination that led to defections of some of party members.

Most shocking for Saenuri would be its possible loss of some of its seats in southeastern Gyeongsang province, a traditional home turf to the ruling party and Park, as well as in the central Gangnam district in Seoul that traditionally prefers conservative candidates.

In southwestern Jeolla province, the People's Party was expected to win more seats in the region, a traditional support base for the main opposition Minjoo Party. Enditem