South Korea Ruling Party Loses Seoul Vote in Warning for Lee
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Independent candidate Park Won Soon won the Seoul mayoral election, dealing a blow to the ruling party ahead of elections for South Korea’s legislature and president next year.
Park, 55, beat Na Kyung Won, a lawmaker from President Lee Myung Bak’s Grand National Party, by 53.4 percent to 46.2 percent, the National Election Commission said on its website. Park, a lawyer and civic activist, had criticized Lee’s policy of eschewing broad engagement with North Korea, and tapped discontent with a widening wealth gap and elevated inflation.