(VOVworld) – President Park Geun Hye’s ruling party, the Saenuri, was narrowly defeated in South Korean parliamentary elections on Wednesday, according to data from the National Election Commission.

Kim Boo-kyum, Minjoo party's presidential candidate, celebrated the victory in Daegu on Wednesday (Photo: Yonhap/TTXVN)

With almost all ballots counted, Park's Saenuri Party won 122 seats in the 300-member National Assembly, while the main opposition Minjoo Party won 123, ending the ruling party’s 16-year parliamentary majority.
The general election was considered a vote of confidence on Park Geun Hye’s presidency, and a vital test for presidential hopefuls for the December 2017 presidential election, including Saenuri Party’s Kim Moo-sung, the Minjoo Party’s Moon Jae-in and the People’s Party’s Ahn Cheol-soo.
The final results of the election will be announced on Thursday.