South Korea flips left in presidential race; Lee secures victory after conservative opponent concedes
South Korean voters swung left in the presidential race Tuesday, and conservative candidate Kim Moon-soo conceded defeat to liberal opponent Lee Jae-myung in the snap election.
Kim, candidate of the People Power Party (PPP), said at a press conference in the early hours of Wednesday morning he "humbly accepts (the) people's choice."
The decision came after record early voting turnout prompted speculation Lee would secure the presidency and flip the top seat after the impeachment of predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol, who was booted from office after he declared martial law in December.
South Koreans Cast Votes For New President To Succeed Yoon After His Ouster Over Martial Law Declaration
The impeachment threw the country into political chaos after Yoon, also a member of the PPP, was removed from office two years early.
It is unclear by what margin Lee secured the presidency, though reports had suggested for weeks that the liberal candidate was favored to win the top job.
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But Lee's candidacy also prompted some serious concern when it came to his policy on international relations, particularly Seoul's relationship with the U.S., China and North Korea.
South Korea Faces High-stakes Election; Fears Over China, North Korea And Us Ties Shape Voter Concerns
Kim challenged Lee's policies in a presidential debate last month after the liberal candidate said he would take a "pragmatic" approach.
"There's no need to worry. The South Korea-U.S. alliance is important and should continue to grow and strengthen," Lee said, adding Seoul should not be "unilaterally bound" to Washington, especially when it comes to the U.S.'s adversarial rivals.
"We should not neglect ties with China or Russia," he added. "We need to manage them appropriately, and there's no need to have an unnecessarily hostile approach like now."
This position is a shift from the previous administration, which was hawkish on China and North Korea.
Lee has said he wants to mitigate the "North Korea risk" by easing relations with Seoul's northern neighbor.Original article source: South Korea flips left in presidential race; Lee secures victory after conservative opponent concedes
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Atlantic
12 minutes ago
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While Hegseth has touted DOGE's steps to reduce the number of federal contractors and other personnel, DOD was not driving the process. The invitation represented a chance for Pentagon leaders to help steer DOGE's direction in cutting one of the world's largest bureaucracies. (A representative for Musk did not respond to multiple requests for comment.) Tom Nichols: Pete Hegseth's patriotic duty is to resign Just three days after Musk's Pentagon visit, Hegseth's judgment again came into question when Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor in chief of The Atlantic, revealed that he had been added to a high-level Signal chat about plans to bomb Houthi militants in Yemen. Although then–National Security Adviser Michael Waltz had inadvertently invited Goldberg to the thread, it was Hegseth who escalated the exchange by posting details of an imminent attack on Houthi targets, including the precise times when U.S. jets would be flying over their targets in Yemen. 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