President's party wins majority in parliament

The conservative party of Republic of Korea's (ROK) new president yesterday won a majority in a parliamentary election, according to TV projections, giving him the political muscle to push through reforms of Asia's fourth largest economy.

Lee Myung-bak's Grand National Party (GNP) was projected to win between 155-178 of the 299 seats in parliament, according to projections by the KBS and MBC TV networks. Two other TV channels predicted much the same majority.

"I believe the voters made a political decision to give us a stable majority for the reason they elected President Lee Myung-bak, which is to revive the economy," GNP chief Kang Jae-sup said in a TV interview.