South Korea's ruling Grand National Party (GNP) won more than half of the seats in Wednesday's parliamentary elections nationwide, the National Election Commission (NEC) said.

Kang Jae-sup (L Front), president of South Korea's ruling Grand National Party (GNP), shakes hands with another GNP leader in Seoul, April 9, 2008, after knowing that his party has won more than half of the seats in Wednesday's parliamentary elections.

According to local media, the GNP won 153 seats in the 299-seat National Assembly, lower than its initial target of securing a solid majority of 170 seats. The NEC is expected to announce the final result of the election in early Thursday as the counting of ballots is still underway.

The largest opposition United Democratic Party grabs 81 seats in the election, drastically lower than 136 seats it held in the outgoing Assembly.

Under South Korean law, among a total of 299 seats in the National Assembly, 245 are elected through direct voting in each district nationwide, while the remaining 54 seats are allocated to parties according to the number of votes they win.

Following the victory in election, Kang Jae-sup, leader of the conservative GNP, expressed his gratitude to all the supporters of GNP, describing the election as "a victory of all the South Koreans."