South Korean Prime Minister Chung Un-Chan offered to quit yesterday to take responsibility for the government's failure to win parliamentary approval for a key development project."I'm quitting the post of prime minister, taking all the responsibility," he said in a televised statement.
It was not immediately known whether President Lee Myung-Bak, who effectively wields power under the South Korean system, would accept Chung's resignation after rejecting three previous offers.
Lee suffered a blow last month when parliament rejected his attempt to scrap his predecessor's plan to relocate half the government ministries to a new city south of Seoul.
The prime minister had drawn up Lee's alternative plan for Sejong City, which the government hoped to develop as a science, business and education hub.
But Lee secured a major political boost late Wednesday when his conservative ruling party, recovering from a humiliating defeat in last month's local elections, unexpectedly won five of eight parliamentary by-elections.
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