SEOUL (AFP) – South Korean Prime Minister Chung Un-Chan offered his resignation Thursday to take responsibility for the government’s failure to win parliamentary approval for a key project.‘’

I’m quitting the post of prime minister, taking all the reponsibility,’’ he said in a televised statement. President Lee Myung-Bak suffered a political blow last month when parliament rejected a multi-billion-dollar government plan to develop a new city as a science, business and education hub.

Chung expressed regret for the setback over the new city. It was not known immediately whether the president, who wields effective power under the South Korean system, accepted Chung’s resignation.