Who is Lee Jae-myung? South Korea's newly elected president
Lee Jae-myung, the leader of South Korea's liberal Democratic Party, has won the presidential snap election. According to the National Election Commission, Lee secured 49.25% of the vote, while his conservative rival Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party garnered 41.40%. With 98.51% of ballots counted, Kim conceded defeat and congratulated Lee on his victory.
Lee is expected to become South Korea's next president, serving a single five-year term. The snap election was triggered by the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was removed from office on April 4, 2025 .
His conservative rival Kim Moon-soo, from the People Power Party (PPP), conceded defeat and congratulated Lee on his win. 'It's highly likely I will become president,' Lee told supporters gathered outside his home in Seoul, according to Reuters.
A former human rights lawyer and two-time presidential contender, Lee, 61, has long been a prominent figure in South Korea's liberal politics. Raised in poverty and once a factory worker, he rose to prominence as the outspoken mayor of Seongnam and later as governor of Gyeonggi Province.
Lee led the impeachment drive against former president Yoon Suk-yeol, who was removed from office in April following his declaration of martial law during December's protests. Lee's campaign focused on restoring democratic norms, reducing inequality, and easing tensions with North Korea.
Kim Moon-soo, the conservative candidate and former labour minister, trailed Lee with around 42.9% of the vote. He struggled to gain support due to his links with Yoon and failed to unify the conservative vote.
Lee Jun-seok, a third-party conservative candidate from the New Reform Party, also ran in the race and later conceded defeat.
Lee Jae-myung won the presidential snap election by capitalizing on his role as an opposition leader, particularly by standing against Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law bid and promising to guide the country out of its political and economic turmoil.
His victory was also influenced by the crisis within the People Power Party (PPP) following Yoon's impeachment. The PPP's internal conflicts, including infighting over Kim Moon-soo's candidacy and unclear positions on Yoon's legacy and martial law declaration, weakened the party's support base
Lee is expected to be sworn in as South Korea's 14th president on Wednesday. He will serve a single five-year term, as required by the South Korean constitution. Nearly 80% of the country's 44.4 million eligible voters participated – the highest turnout since 1997, according to the election commission.
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NDTV
44 minutes ago
- NDTV
South Korean President Takes Over A Country Deeply Split By Gender Politics
Liberal candidate Lee Jae-myung has won South Korea's snap presidential election with a clear lead. With all of the ballots counted, Lee won almost 50% of the vote, ahead of his conservative rival Kim Moon-soo on 41%. He takes over a country that is deeply divided along gender lines. Lee's campaign effectively channelled voter anger. He focused on resetting South Korea's politics after impeached former president Yoon Suk Yeol, who was from the same party as Kim, unleashed chaos by declaring martial law in December 2024. However, gender conflict has continued, subtly but powerfully, to shape voter behaviour, campaign strategies and the national debate about who is to blame for the lack of opportunities in South Korea for young men. The election took place three years after Yoon pipped Lee to the presidency by just a quarter of a million votes – the closest margin in the country's history. Yoon's victory was, as has been noted by researcher Kyungja Jung, 'the epitome of the utilisation of gender wars'. A key part of Yoon's strategy was fostering a sense among young Korean men that it was now them, rather than women, who were the victims of discrimination. He secured 59% of the vote from men in their 20s and 53% from men in their 30s. Just 34% of women in their 20s supported him. In the latest election, gender was everywhere and nowhere all at once. On the one hand, not a single candidate put forward a meaningful policy to address structural gender discrimination in the workplace, domestic violence or public sexual harassment. None even mentioned the gaping absence of women candidates, despite thousands of mostly young women having filled the streets demanding democracy after Yoon's martial law declaration. It was the first time in nearly 20 years that not a single woman stood among the contenders for the highest role in the country. Lee, positioning himself as the consensus candidate, attempted to neutralise gender as a campaign issue. When reporters asked him whether he would announce any women-related pledges, he said: 'Why do you keep dividing men and women? They are all Koreans.' His remark may sound inclusive. But it signals a strategy to declare the gender issue off-limits for the sake of the greater good, thus sidestepping the specific inequalities that continue to divide the country. It's a form of unity by erasure. Lee Jun-seok of the right-wing Reform party, on the other hand, tried to resurrect the same playbook that delivered Yoon to power in 2022. He attempted to provoke, polarise and win the loyalty of disaffected young men. As Yoon had done three years ago, he called for the abolition of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. And during a televised debate, he asked: 'If someone says they want to stick chopsticks into women's genitals, would that count as misogyny?' The question was a nod to a controversial online remark Lee Jae-myung's son had made years earlier. Lee Jun-seok's comment drew widespread condemnation and, ultimately, he only scraped about 7.7% of the total vote. This included over 37% of men in their 20s, while 58% of women in the same age group backed Lee Jae-myung. Gender is a highly political matter in South Korea whichever way you look at it. Gender wars This gender divide is now one of the most consistent features of South Korean politics. Women are vocal and visible in public to safeguard not just their own rights, but also South Korea's democracy. Yet populist politicians have cultivated a perception among young men – squeezed by stagnant wages, fierce competition over jobs and social expectations – that their diminishing opportunities are due to policies they see as favouring women. This has resulted in many young South Korean men seeing feminism not as a movement for equality but as an obstacle to their own progress. In reality, their struggle has less to do with gender and more to do with structural inequalities in income and opportunity for all young Koreans. As Kyungja Jung observed in a paper from 2024: 'Misogyny becomes an outlet for their [South Korean men's] frustration and masculinity crisis as they search for a scapegoat for their struggles in neoliberal society. They blame women rather than the neoliberal economy.' Young people even from the best universities in Korea feel they cannot compete in the job market no matter what they do. South Korea now has one of the highest rates of young people not in education, employment or training among the OECD countries. This has given rise to the so-called 'N-Po' generation, who feel so disadvantaged that they have given up on all future dreams of marriage, family and a career. South Korea isn't alone in mobilising backlash against feminism and gender equality. Around the globe, gender has become one of the major fault lines in politics. In the November 2024 US election, Donald Trump led among young men by 14 points, while Kamala Harris had an 18-point edge with young women. Meanwhile, self-described misogynist Andrew Tate continues to shape young male attitudes online. And in Italy, Giorgia Meloni rose to power on a far-right platform that, despite being a woman herself, reduces women to their roles as mothers and homemakers. One model for change in South Korea could be to introduce quotas for women in politics to make their voices heard. Women only occupy around 20% of the 300 seats in South Korea's National Assembly, trailing well behind the global (27.2%) and Asian (22.1%) averages. If women are not in politics making decisions about themselves, then their voices will not be heard beyond the streets. Lee Jae-myung's win has given South Korea a moment to breathe. But the fault lines remain. When an entire demographic, be it young men or women, feels systematically unheard or structurally discriminated against, opportunistic voices can move in to fill the void. Gender is political. Ignoring it may be just as risky as confronting it head-on. (Authors: Ming Gao, Research Scholar of East Asia Studies, Lund University and Joanna Elfving-Hwang, Associate Professor (Korean Society and Culture), Director of Korea Research & Engagement Centre, Curtin University) (Disclosure Statement: Ming Gao receives funding from the Swedish Research Council. This research was produced with support from the Swedish Research Council grant "Moved Apart" (nr. 2022-01864). Ming Gao is a member of Lund University Profile Area: Human Rights. Joanna Elfving-Hwang receives funding from the Academy of Korean Studies. This research was supported by the Core University Program for Korean Studies through the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and Korean Studies Promotion Service of the Academy of Korean Studies (AKS-2022-OLU-2250005)
The Hindu
6 hours ago
- The Hindu
South Korea's liberal-led legislature passes bills calling for special probes into Yoon and wife
South Korea's liberal-led legislature on Thursday (June 5, 2025) passed bills to launch special investigations into former President Yoon Suk-yeol's short-lived imposition of martial law in December and criminal allegations against his wife, targeting the ousted conservative a day after his liberal successor took office. The bills previously were vetoed by Mr. Yoon and South Korea's caretaker government after his December 14 impeachment over the martial law debacle. They are expected to be signed by new President Lee Jae-myung, a Democrat who won (June 3, 2025) Tuesday's snap election triggered by Mr. Yoon's formal removal from office in April. Many members of the conservative People Power Party refused to participate in the votes, which took place after one of the party's lawmakers accused the liberals in a speech of being driven by vendetta. Mr. Lee, who as an Opposition leader drove the legislative efforts to impeach and oust Mr. Yoon, pinned his presidential campaign on unity, promising not to target conservatives and calling for an end to political polarisation. Yet Mr. Lee has vowed a full investigation into Mr. Yoon's martial law stunt and the allegations surrounding his wife, moves that could overshadow the new government and inflame tensions as Mr. Yoon faces a high-stakes rebellion trial carrying a possible death sentence. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office indicted Mr. Yoon in January over his December 3 martial law decree, charging him with masterminding a rebellion and describing his power grab as an illegal bid to seize the legislature and election offices and arrest political opponents. Liberals have insisted that independent investigations into Mr. Yoon are essential, saying probes by prosecutors, police, and an anti-corruption agency were inadequate and hampered by Mr. Yoon's refusal to cooperate. If Mr. Lee approves the launch of independent investigations, special prosecutors could request the transfer of relevant cases for expanded probes, or direct public or military prosecutors to continue handling them under their supervision. The bills calling for independent investigations into Mr. Yoon's martial law decree and criminal allegations involving his wife both passed by a vote of 194 to 3. Dozens of retired marines, dressed in red shirts, saluted and cheered from an observation box after lawmakers passed the bill for a special prosecutor investigation into the marine's death, which also passed 194 to 3. Mr. Yoon's martial law decree lasted only a few hours after a quorum of lawmakers pushed past a blockade of hundreds of heavily armed soldiers and voted to revoke the measure. Mr. Yoon defended the move as a necessary act of governance, accusing the Democrats, whom he labeled 'anti-state forces,' of abusing their majority to obstruct his agenda and paralyse state affairs. That same majority now gives Mr. Lee a far more favorable path to advance his agenda, though conservatives claim it could grant him virtually unchecked power and allow him to pass laws that shield him from legal trouble. Mr. Yoon's wife, Kim Keon-hee, also faces multiple corruption allegations, including claims that she received luxury items from a Unification Church official seeking business favors, as well as possible involvement in a stock price manipulation scheme. She also is suspected of interfering with PPP's candidate nominations ahead of legislative elections in April last year. While in office, Mr. Yoon repeatedly dismissed calls to investigate his wife, denouncing them as baseless political attacks.
Time of India
6 hours ago
- Time of India
South Korea divided, troubled as Lee Jae-myung takes over
South Korea divided, troubled as Lee Jae-myung takes over (Image: AP) South Korea's new President Lee Jae-myung sought to project a message of unity as he took office on Wednesday in a country wracked by political division since a short-lived martial law declaration in December. "No matter whom you supported in this election, I will serve as a president for all, to embrace and serve every citizen," Lee said during his swearing-in ceremony at the National Assembly. He also pledged to reinvigorate the nation's economy and pursue policies that help ordinary people, both at home and abroad. His declaration comes as multiple national and international organizations, including the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), are downgrading growth forecasts for the South Korean economy. The OECD this week predicted only a 1% GDP growth in 2025. "It is time to restore security and peace, which have been reduced to tools of political strife, to rebuild livelihoods and the economy damaged by indifference, incompetence and irresponsibility, and to revive democracy that has been undermined by armoured vehicles and automatic rifles," Lee said. The reference to vehicles and weapons is a barb against his predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol, who was removed from office and is still on trial for briefly declaring martial law six months ago. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với sàn môi giới tin cậy IC Markets Tìm hiểu thêm Undo While the move sparked outrage across the country, some members of the military, the Presidential Security Service (PSS) and sections of the public sided with Yoon before his eventual arrest. Lee just short of 50% support The short-lived attempt to prop up Yoon with military force revived unhappy memories in South Korea — a country which experienced periods of military rule until the 1980s. It has massively harmed the image of Yoon's conservative People Power Party (PPP), and arguably allowed Lee and his Democratic Party to claim power with 49.42% of the total vote, while PPP rival Kim Moon-soo secured only 41.15%. The third candidate in the single-round vote, Lee Jun-seok from the Reform party, finished the race at 8.34%. "This result is seen as a judgment by the people against the PPP's imposition of martial law, and I believe this election marks a new stage in the maturity of Korean democracy," said Hyobin Lee, a professor at Sogang University in Seoul. "With the emergence of this new administration, many changes are expected." New president brings hopes for better ties with China, North Korea With the election over, Lee's administration now needs to face challenges on many fronts, not least in the form of US trade tariffs and tense relationships with immediate neighbours North Korea, China and Japan. It is widely anticipated that Lee's administration will be more pro-China than previous administrations, Hyobin Lee told DW. Beijing is Seoul's most important trade partner, and South Korea is also deeply concerned about the reliability of the present US administration when it comes to both security and trade. Closer ties with Beijing may also help mitigate the threat posed by North Korea, still a close ally of China. On the campaign trail, Lee indicated that he intends to rebuild bridges with Pyongyang, although that may be even more difficult now due to new security and trade ties between North Korea and Russia. North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un may even choose to deliberately and publicly snub any approach from Lee. Will Lee rule without checks and balances? And back on the home front, even among those South Koreans who took to the streets to protest Yoon's declaration of martial law, there is now concern that too much power is concentrated in the hands of the Democratic Party and its leader. Lee and his allies control 190 of the 300 seats in the National Assembly, making his camp "able to drive national policy in any direction it chooses, without effective opposition," says Seoul-based professor Hyobin. "The lack of checks and balances could potentially put our democracy at risk," she added. South Korea at a crossroads Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, shares those concerns. He sees Lee's victory as a "watershed moment in South Korean politics," and warns that Lee's control of the executive branch and his large legislative majority give him vast amounts of power. "South Korea could see institutional reforms and greater policy coherence in response to economic, foreign policy and democratic challenges," he suggested. "Or the country could face more political retribution, increasing polarization and counterproductive changes in governance." Lee still in legal trouble, plans judicial reform Park Jung-won, a professor of law at Dankook University, points out that President Lee did not win more than 50% of the votes, even given the handicaps that his opponents faced. Lee has been embroiled in at least nine legal cases, most involving allegations of bribery, the illegal transfer of funds to North Korea and making false statements during election campaigns. In fact, he would not have been able to run for president if an appeal in one of the cases had gone ahead as planned. But Lee successfully petitioned the courts to delay the case until after the election on the grounds that it would interfere with a fair vote. Park points out that the new government is now proposing legislative changes that would make it impossible for the case to go ahead in the future. The DP also stated during the campaign that if elected it would seek to dissolve its main political adversary, the People Power Party, because it was headed by Yoon when he declared martial law. Backlash against Lee likely Actions that are perceived as hindering fair political processes will not go down well with the electorate, Park said. "I anticipate there will be a honeymoon period for Lee and his new government, but the conservative media will not hesitate to criticize Lee if they feel he is going too far, and that could lead to a serious backlash from the public," he added. Yet, Easley is hopeful that Lee will find the political equilibrium required to move on from the monthslong political crisis. "Lee's electoral mandate is not for a progressive revolution but for pragmatic problem-solving," he said. "He has proved to be a political survivor, after legal scandals, questionable opposition tactics and even threats to his life." Now, Easley said, the new president needs to "approach government not only with pragmatism for the national interest, but also with humility for social unity."
