page_title: 2016 South Korean legislative election
section_title: Results
hierarchical_section_title: 2016 South Korean legislative election / Results
caption_attribution_description: English: Ballot box for Korean National Assembly Election 2016. 한국어: 제20대국회의원총선거 시 사용된 투표함.
context_page_description: South Korea's 20th legislative elections were held on 13 April 2016. All 300 members of the National Assembly were elected, 253 from first-past-the-post constituencies and 47 from proportional party lists. The election was an upset victory for the liberal Democratic Party, which defied opinion polling by winning a plurality of seats in the election and defeating the ruling conservative Saenuri Party by one seat. In votes for party lists, however, Democratic Party came third, behind the Saenuri Party in first place and the new People's Party in second.
  The election marked an upheaval in the South Korean party system, installing a hung parliament for the first time since 2000 and a three-party system for the first time since 1996. The People's Party attained a kingmaker position in the new Assembly, while the leadership of the Saenuri Party including chairman Kim Moo-sung resigned en masse following their defeat, relinquishing control of the party to an emergency response commission.
context_section_description: Prior to the election, it was widely expected that the Saenuri Party would emerge victorious due to divisions in the opposition and an intensified national security climate. Speculation had focused on whether the party would be able to attain a three-fifths majority. In contrast to expectations, however, the Saenuri Party was delivered a decisive defeat, losing not only its majority but also its status as largest party in the Assembly. The Democratic Party took a one-seat plurality, and the opposition outnumbered the governing party for the first time in 16 years, while the centrist People's Party also emerged as a new force in South Korean politics, holding the balance of power in the elected Assembly. The result was seen as posing significant problems for then-President Park, who was rendered unable to press forward with her legislative agenda without opposition support. News sources labelled Park a "lame duck" president, with the Chosun Ilbo saying that her "lame duck period has started earlier than any other administration in the past".
  Eleven independents were elected, of whom seven were former Saenuri members who had been deselected by the party in the nominations process prior to the election: Yoo Seong-min, Joo Ho-young, Ahn Sang-soo, Yoon Sang-hyun, Kang Ghil-boo, Chang Je-won, and Lee Chul-gyu. Meanwhile, a number of high-profile Saenuri figures were defeated in the constituency elections, including Oh Se-hoon, former Mayor of Seoul, who had been positioning himself for the 2017 presidential race; senior lawmaker and former presidential candidate Lee Jae-oh; and Deputy Prime Minister and former party chairman Hwang Woo-yea.
caption: Sealed ballot box used for this election
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