S.Korean liberal parties merge ahead of polls

SKOREA: South Korea's two leading liberal parties on Sunday officially merged in a bid to prevent a landslide victory by the conservative Grand National Party (GNP) in April's legislative election.

The United New Democratic Party (UNDP) and the smaller Democratic Party had agreed on the merger earlier this month. The new party registered with the election watchdog will tentatively be called the United Democratic Party.

The UNDP currently has 135 members of parliament and the DP six to the GNP's 130, but liberal politicians fear a major swing to the conservatives in the April 9 election.

Seoul, Sunday, AFP