South Korea's social-liberal opposition camp has a clear lead in the country's parliamentary elections, an initial forecast suggests.
The socially liberal Democratic Party (DP) of opposition leader Lee Jae Myung looks set to maintain its position as the strongest single party in the 300-seat National Assembly.
Together with its smaller sister party, the Democratic Alliance of Korea, the DP is projected to have won 178 to 196 seats, South Korean broadcaster KBS reported on Wednesday.
That would put the ruling People's Power Party (PPP) of conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol and its affiliated People's Future Party at between 87 and 105 seats.
Yoon's parliamentary supporters had hoped to change the balance of power in parliament in their favour so that they could push through legislative proposals more easily.
The forecast was based on a joint voter survey conducted for broadcasters MBC and SBS immediately after voting ended.
A total of 44.25 million people were eligible to cast their vote in Asia's fourth-largest economy.
According to the state election commission, more than 950 candidates and 38 parties had registered for Wednesday's poll.
The election is seen as an important interim assessment of Yoon's government, which has been in office for two years.
The next presidential election is scheduled for 2027.
