2008 South Korean legislative election
Legislative elections were held in South Korea on April 9, 2008.
The conservative Grand National Party won 153 of 299 seats while the main opposition United Democratic Party won 81 seats. This election marked the lowest-ever voter turnout of 46%.
Electoral system
The election was held under parallel voting, with 245 members elected in single-member constituencies via first-past-the-post voting and the remainder elected via proportional representation. Proportional seats were only available to parties which one three percent of the national valid vote among seat-allocated parties and/or won five or more constituency seats.Political parties
As of April 9, 2008, there were six political parties represented in the 18th National Assembly of South Korea, in addition to independents:- Grand National Party, led by Kang Jae-seop. The current major conservative party within the National Assembly.
- United Democratic Party, led by Son Hak-gyu. The current major liberal party within the National Assembly.
- Liberty Forward Party, led by Lee Hoi-chang. The Chungcheong Region-strongholder and current second conservative party within the National Assembly against the GNP.
- Pro-Park Alliance, led by Seo Cheong-won, although their inspirational leader is former GNP leader Park Geun-hye. A conservative coalition with Park Geun-hye within the National Assembly that broke away from the GNP after a dispute on the GNP's candidate nomination, which happened just before the election.
- Democratic Labor Party, led by Chun Young-se. A minor but the most progressive party within the 18th National Assembly, against both the Grand Nationals and Democrats.
- Creative Korea Party, led by Moon Kook-hyun. A minor but pro-environmental liberal party within the National Assembly, against the Grand Nationals.
- The New Progressive Party, led by Sim Sang-jeong and Roh Hoe-chan, won 2.94% votes but not enough to gain any seats. The New Progressive Party split from the Democratic Labor Party as a reaction to nationalism after the 2007 presidential elections.