World leaders congratulate Lee Jae-myung on election win
Opposition in Seoul criticizes delayed first phone call with Trump
President Lee Jae-myung's victory on Tuesday prompted a wave of congratulatory messages from around the world, but his political opponents in Seoul noted that the customary Day One phone call with the US president was delayed.
The latest statement from the presidential spokesperson, Kang Yu-jung, did not mention when Lee's first phone call with US President Donald Trump might take place.
On Thursday, Kang said the South Korean president's call with Trump was being arranged, adding that factors like different time zones had to be put into consideration.
Some within the opposition in Seoul pointed out that past South Korean presidents usually held the first over-the-phone talks with their US counterparts on the day they assumed office, if not the day after.
"I think there are two possibilities at play. One is that Washington seems to have doubts about where the new South Korean president stands on China," People Power Party Rep. Ihn Yohan, on the National Assembly's foreign committee, told The Korea Herald.
"The other is that trade talks with other countries are a bit stalled, and being given a priority. We hope it is the latter."
The White House's statement on Lee's presidential win on Wednesday included an unusual mention of China.
"The US-ROK Alliance remains ironclad. While South Korea had a free and fair election, the United States remains concerned and opposed to Chinese interference and influence in democracies around the world," the statement said, according to Reuters.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio extended a more neutral congratulations.
"We congratulate President Lee Jae-myung on his election as the next president of the Republic of Korea," he said.
Rubio said the two allies "share an ironclad commitment to the Alliance grounded in our Mutual Defense Treaty, shared values, and deep economic ties."
Rubio also highlighted continuity of trilateral cooperation among South Korea, Japan and the US and building on shared values.
"We will also continue to deepen US-Japan-ROK trilateral cooperation to bolster regional security, enhance economic resilience, and build our shared democratic principles," he said.
More well wishes came in from US Congress members.
Sen. Bill Hagerty on Friday congratulated Lee on his win via social platform Twitter.
"As a senator and former US ambassador to Japan, I look forward to working with Seoul to continue strengthening the US-ROK Alliance and the US-ROK-Japan trilateral strategic partnership," the Republican senator said.
The US Congressional Korea Caucus issued a statement Wednesday and said they looked forward to "working together with President Lee Jae-myung and his administration during this critical time for the alliance."
"We also wish to recognize the estimated 2 million Korean Americans throughout the United States who play a vital role in maintaining our strong bilateral relationship," the Korea Caucus statement said.
Key regional neighbors including China and Japan congratulated Lee soon after his election was called.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said Beijing places a "high priority on its relationship with Seoul, and is ready to work closely with the incoming administration to deepen bilateral ties."
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, calling Lee's win a "reflection of the will of the Korean people," said he hoped for "renewed relations after years of strain between the two countries."
"It is in our mutual interest to work closely together on issues of security, historical reconciliation and regional stability," he said.
Lee also received congratulations from Taiwan.
President Lai Ching-te extended "sincerest congratulations to the people of the Republic of Korea and President Lee," according to the Taiwanese president's spokesperson Karen Kuo.
Kuo said Lai hoped to "deepen bilateral relations" with Seoul, and "jointly help contribute to democracy, peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region."
Over the campaign, Lee said he would take a "pragmatic approach" in dealing with both China and Taiwan in a possible contingency.
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Korea Herald
6 hours ago
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12 hours ago
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Bills to probe Yoon, wife pass National Assembly
Bill on suspected interference in investigation of Marine's death also passed; Presidential office says 'there is very little reason' to veto them The ruling Democratic Party of Korea-controlled National Assembly on Thursday passed contentious bills mandating special counsel probes into charges and scandals surrounding former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife, Kim Keon Hee. Three probe bills reintroduced by the Democratic Party were approved during a parliamentary plenary vote held in the afternoon. One pushes to launch a permanent special counsel to investigate 11 charges tied to Yoon's failed martial bid in December; another seeks to mainly investigate Kim's alleged inappropriate interference in the People Power Party's candidate nomination process in previous general and by-elections as well as her luxury bag scandal; the third looks into the allegations that the Yoon administration interfered in the military's investigation into a young Marine's death in 2023. All three bills were passed in a 194-3 vote with one abstention, in a package deal. The move came a day after President Lee Jae-myung, who was the Democratic Party Chair, was sworn into office. He won Tuesday's early election, securing 49.42 percent of the vote against his rival and People Power Party candidate Kim Moon-soo, who saw 41.15 percent. Lee was highly likely to approve and endorse the bills, as an official at the presidential office said, 'there is very little reason' to veto them, with all three 'receiving People's support,' in a press briefing after the plenary vote. People Power Party, which became the main opposition party on Wednesday, highlighted its party line against the passage of the bills ahead of the plenary vote. The majority of the party lawmakers boycotted all three votes. All three bills passed on Thursday had previous versions that were scrapped by former President Yoon's veto power. The bill mandating a permanent special counsel investigation against Yoon will look into 11 different charges tied to his martial law bid, including insurrection and military mutiny. The previous versions of the bill were vetoed and scrapped twice. The latest version expanded the scope of the charges from six to 11. Special counsel candidates will be nominated by the Democratic Party and the minor liberal Rebuilding Korea Party, from the parliament's side. The bill also eases regulations to access presidential archives. It lowers the threshold from the current approval needed from two-thirds of lawmakers or from a high court chief judge to three-fifths of the Assembly or permission from a district court chief judge. The bill concerning the first lady will look into her alleged role in a stock manipulation scandal as well as the inappropriate acceptance of a luxury bag from a Korean-American pastor and election-related scandals involving political broker Myung Tae-kyun. An amendment passed alongside the bills expands the scope of the number of assistant special prosecutors from four to seven and raises the cap on dispatched prosecutors from 40 to 60.
