Nearly all ballots are counted and looks like there will be 60 women in the assembly this time. That’s 20% of seats and the highest share in history.

Much of the red part (conservative) in southeastern Seoul is the affluent Gangnam district, famed for the song Gangnam Style, a consistent conservative stronghold even in a year when most districts voted against the ruling party.

(Source: Naver)

South Korea's liberal opposition parties scored a landslide victory in a parliamentary election held on Wednesday, dealing a resounding blow to President Yoon Suk Yeol and his conservative party but falling just short of a super majority.
reuters.com/world/asia-pac…

ANALYSIS: Was South Korea's President thwarted by a spring onion?

President Yoon Suk Yeol and his party have suffered a crushing defeat. I look at what's behind it and what it means going forward - for him and South Korea.

bbc.com/news/world-asi…

In 2022, S. Korea's so called 'angry young men' in their 20s resoundingly voted for Yoon (conservative) and the gender divide drew a great deal of attention.

See the exit poll by KBS-MBC-SBS below -- PPP had a a mere 1.5% edge over DP and PPP in Wednesday's election.

WATCH LIVE: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida addresses joint meeting of Congress twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1…

The Liberty Times reported that current secretary general of #Taiwan 's Presidential Office Lin Chia-lung, who was also a former transportation minister, has agreed to be the new foreign minister for Taiwan when Lai Ching-te takes office next month. news.ltn.com.tw/news/politics/…

All eyes were on what Marcos would say.

'Today's summit is an opportunity to define the future that we want,' he said. That future will be a world with democracy, good governance and the rule of law.

He didn't disappoint.
asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Inter… via Nikkei Asia

Following election defeat:

- President Yoon 'humbly accepts' the will of the people
- Ruling party leader Han Dong-hoon steps down
- Senior presidential aides including PM and Chief of Staff offer to resign yna.co.kr/view/AKR202404…

With vote count at 99%+, the ruling People Power Party is expected to take 109/300 seats in the National Assembly, making the Yoon administration the first in constitutional history to face a majority opposition in the NA throughout its entire 5-year term.
hani.co.kr/arti/politics/…

PM Kishida:
My wife and I attended the official banquet dinner hosted by President Biden and Jill Biden. We spent a very meaningful evening with guests playing instrumental roles in all sectors of society in Japan and the United States.

Scenes from the summit meeting held at the White House.

1/ Editorials today: Hankyoreh says election results represent a clear public repudiation of President Yoon's leadership over the past 2 years. Needs to reflect on his admin's failures, and make significant changes to his governing style and personnel. hani.co.kr/arti/opinion/e…

1: Sorry, but Emanuel is really very naive about the region he is currently working in if he actually believes this is the end of the story. For one, the region is fragmented in many ways. It is not in Cold War-like bipolarity. carnegieendowment.org/2020/09/09/asi…

I assume Beijing will be watching this closely: “Thailand will fund a $14 billion cash handout program to stimulate the economy through a combination of state budget and assistance from a state bank.”

bloomberg.com/news/articles/… via Bloomberg Politics

.President Biden: Welcome back to the White House, Mr. Prime Minister and Mrs. Kishida.

Good stuff.

“More joint patrols can be expected in the South China Sea after drills by the United States, Australia, the Philippines and Japan last weekend, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday (Apr 9).” channelnewsasia.com/asia/expect-mo…

Cho Kuk's recent comments about Yoon becoming a 'lame duck and then a dead duck' seem prescient given the exit poll results, though of course we need to wait for the final vote tallies.

Brussels tests out perhaps its sharpest anti-China tool yet

Alan Beattie worth your time on the foreign subsidies regulation

'Compared with investigations into trade defence instruments ... FSR probes are fast. The deadline is 110 working days'

ft.com/content/90306c…