South Korean Press Review

The rancour-ridden South Korean parliament was realigned on Thursday when voters delivered the reformist Uri party a majority in the national assembly. The result was widely regarded as a referendum on last month's impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun. In opting for the Roh-supporting Uri party over the Grand National party (GNP) "the people have clearly stated their opposition to the impeachment bill", said Hankyoreh in an editorial.

Mr Roh was ostensibly impeached for breaching electoral law by expressing support for the Uri party, but it was widely regarded as a political tactic. His fate is now in the hands of the constitutional court, which is, noted Kim Ji-soo in the JoongAng Ilbo, "nominally insulated from politics". None the less, "the rousing vote of confidence in Mr Roh's administration has obviously been noted by the judges".

Voters had chosen "the new and untested over the old and somewhat tattered", said Kim. South Koreans had embraced the Uri reform message, which "includes vague but compelling calls for a 'more equal' relationship with Korea's virtual big brother, the United States". For the Dong-A Ilbo, however, the result was predominantly a rejection of the GNP, as voters punished its "unveiled corruption and failure in grasping the flow of the current society".

The papers were united in demanding an end to the violent (sometimes literally) hostility that has characterised South Korean politics recently. "In order to bury the hatchet, the rival camps should combine efforts to quickly heal the scar of an acute national division following the outgoing assembly's controversial suspension of Mr Roh's presidency," argued an editorial in the Korea Times. The Dong-A urged all parties to "exhibit brand-new images with mutual cooperation and conversation".

The Korea Herald also called for calm. "With the elections over, the nation has to control the 'political winds' so that people can tackle the economy and other urgent issues that have been shelved during the turmoil," said the paper. "It is time for all members of our society to set their feet firmly on the ground, try to promote harmony and understanding and get back to business as usual."