South Korea's PM, top officials offer resignations over election defeat

South Korea's prime minister and senior presidential officials have offered to resign en masse, media reports said, after their conservative ruling party suffered a crushing defeat in parliamentary elections.

The results of Wednesday's election posed a huge political blow to President Yoon Suk-yeol, setting back his domestic agenda and leaving him facing an intensifying political offensive by his liberal opponents during his remaining three years in office.

Prime Minster Han Duck-soo and top advisers to Yoon submitted their resignations on Thursday, South Korean media, including Yonhap news agency, reported. Yoon's office didn't immediately officially confirm the reports.

In a separate news conference, ruling People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon said he would step down as well to take responsibility for the election defeat.

With most of the votes counted, the main opposition Democratic Party and its satellite party appear to have won a combined 175 seats in the 300-member National Assembly.

Another small liberal opposition party was expected to win 12 seats under a proportional representation system, according to South Korean media tallies.

Yoon's ruling People Power Party and its satellite party were projected to have obtained 109 seats.

The final official results were expected later Thursday.