President Park officially accepts the election results

President Park officially accepts the election results. April. 19, 2016 07:34. by 장택동 기자will71@donga.com. President Park Geun-hye announced on Monday that she will “humbly accept the results of the April 13 general elections and focus on improving livelihood of the people,” and that she will “dedicate her left term to the country’s economic development and finishing the 3-year plan for economic innovation.” It was the first time she officially mentioned about the recent general elections. She also emphasized the importance of cooperation with the new members of the National Assembly.

Such comments has shown her acceptance of the election results, which came out the opposition party being the majority, as well as her commitment to reflect the public sentiment to later administrative decisions. However, she did not suggest any specific follow-up plans on how to live up to the commitment.

The president said at the chief secretary meeting that “the results of the elections gave me an opportunity to reconsider public opinions,” as she also demonstrated hope that the new 20th National Assembly work closely with the government to perform their duty to enhance the subsistence of Korean people.

Regarding stagnant global economy, she urged the government to implement economic revitalization and restructuring in a consistent way, so that the necessary reforms to transform the fundamentals of our economy are pushed forward for the sake of the country’s future.

She did not forget to raise her concerns on North Korea’s movement to preparing for the fifth nuclear test, saying that “no one knows for sure what kind of further provocations the North will conduct in order to break out of isolation and strengthen its regime.” She called for a united voice regardless of political spectrum on security and inter-Korean issues.

The opposition seemed not satisfied with President Park’s remarks. Minjoo Party spokesman Lee Jae-kyoung criticized that “she has shown no signs of self-reflection,” lamenting nothing has changed since the elections. Spokesman Kim Jeong-hyun of the People’s Party also pointed out that the president’s perceptions on public sentiment is weak. Professor Kim Hyung-jun of Myungji University disparaged her comments “failing to provide political solution” as they were all about “must” instead of “will.”