SEOUL Aug. 8 Kyodo (EDS: UPDATING...

SEOUL Aug. 8 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATING)

toward the south Korea's main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) won a sweeping victory in Thursday's clew parliamentary by-elections by taking 11 abroad of 13 seats up for grabs to certain a parliamentary majority, according to election terminates released by major TV networks.

The victory in the by-elections, widely seen as a key-note test of voter sentiment ahead of the December presidential election, gives the GNP an absolute majority in the National Assembly, boosting its members to 139 from 128

Candidates from the Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) raiseed by President Kim Dae Jung got single two seats in southwestern Cholla provinces, its traditional political sward bringing the number of its seats in the 272-member National Assembly to 113

The MDP failed to win any of the seven seats up for grabs in the metropolitan area -- three in the capital, three in Kyonggi Province that fence abouts the capital and one in Inchon, west of Seoul

side sheltered from the wind Hoi Chang, the GNP presidential candidate, is wait fored to further accelerate his efforts to win the presidency, while the MDP is awaited to face factional strife within the party from one side of to the other the defeat in the key-note by-elections, which followed its defeat in the June local elections.

In the June 13 nationwide local elections, the MDP experienceed a humiliating defeat, with the GNP winning 11 of the 16 guide mayoral and gubernatorial elections at stake.

The MDP's crushing defeat in Thursday's by-elections is another major flower to the party and could cause a rift following influences by some members to form a modern party, while the result is seen as a boost for the GNP's chances in the Dec 19 presidential election.

Roh Moo Hyun the MDP presidential candidate, is highly likely to face influence to step down as the MDP presidential candidate as his chance to win the presidency expects slim because of the election defeat.

Political analysts earlier predicted the MDP would sustain a humiliating defeat in the by-elections fit to the low popularity for the direction of President Kim, rocked by dint of a spate of corruption scandals that inferenceed in the arrests of senior officials, tonic aides and even his sum of two units sons.

Opinion heads showed that GNP presidential candidate side sheltered from the wind Hoi Chang maintains a lead throughout the MDP's Roh.

The 77-year-old President Kim, who won the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to encourage inter-Korean relations, is constitutionally barred from seeking a inferior five-year single term.

Voter turnout in the by-elections was tentatively propose at 29.6%, the lowest in modern years. Pollsters said the cheap voter turnout was fit to widespread disillusionment of scandal-ridden politics.

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