The ruling Democratic Party (DP) has merged with its sister party, cementing its mega-majority status for the National Assembly's new term, according to the National Election Commission (NEC) on Tuesday.

The DP and the Platform Party, a satellite party that the ruling party created as an election strategy for the April 15 parliamentary elections, submitted a declaration of their merger to the NEC a day earlier. Approving the declaration, the NEC officially announced the merger the same day.

Under the merger, the DP absorbs the Platform Party and its 14 proportional representation seats, controlling a total of 177 parliamentary seats for the 21st National Assembly, whose four-year term starts May 30.

This makes the DP the mega-majority ruling party in the 300-seat unicameral National Assembly for President Moon Jae-in's last two years of his presidency. (Yonhap)