Liberal Lee Jae-myung elected president of South Korea in snap election
South Korea's liberal party candidate, Lee Jae-myung, was elected president in Tuesday's (Jun 3) snap election - exactly six months after he evaded military cordons to vote against a shock martial law decree imposed by his ousted predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol. Lee won 49.42% of the nearly 35 million votes, defeating conservative rival Kim Moon-soo, who took 41.15% in the polls.
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AsiaOne
2 hours ago
- AsiaOne
South Korea's Lee Jae-myung, Trump agree to work towards swift tariff deal, Lee's office says, World News
SEOUL/WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump and South Korea's new president Lee Jae-myung agreed to work toward a swift tariff deal in their first phone call since Lee was elected this week, Lee's office said on Friday (June 6). Trump has imposed tariffs on South Korea, a long time ally with which it has a bilateral free trade deal, and pressed it to pay more for the 28,500 US troops stationed there. Separately, Trump allies have aired concerns about Lee's more conciliatory stance towards China, Washington's main geopolitical rival. Lee, a liberal, was elected on June 3 after former conservative leader, Yoon Suk Yeol, was impeached and ousted. The future of South Korea's export-oriented economy may hinge on what kind of deal Lee can strike with Trump, with all of his country's key sectors from chips to autos and shipbuilding heavily exposed to global trade. His term began on Wednesday. "The two presidents agreed to make an effort to reach a satisfactory agreement on tariff consultations as soon as possible that both countries can be satisfied with," Lee's office said in a statement. "To this end, they decided to encourage working-level negotiations to yield tangible results." Trump invited Lee to a summit in the US and they plan to meet soon, according to a White House official. Analysts say the first opportunity for the two to meet could be at a G7 summit in Canada in mid-June. Lee's office said the two leaders also discussed the assassination attempts they both experienced last year as well as their enthusiasm for golf. Lee underwent surgery after he was stabbed in the neck by a man in January last year, while Trump was wounded in the ear by a bullet fired by a would-be assassin in July. South Korea, a major US ally and one of the first countries after Japan to engage with Washington on trade talks, agreed in late April to craft a "July package" scrapping levies before the 90-day pause on Trump's reciprocal tariffs is lifted, but progress was disrupted by the change of governments in Seoul. Lee said on the eve of the elections that "the most pressing matter is trade negotiations with the United States." Lee's camp has said, however, that they intend to seek more time to negotiate on trade with Trump. While reiterating the importance of the US-South Korea alliance, Lee has also expressed more conciliatory plans for ties with China and North Korea, singling out the importance of China as a major trading partner while indicating a reluctance to take a firm stance on security tensions in the Taiwan Strait. Political analysts say that while Trump and Lee may share a desire to try to re-engage with North Korea, Lee's stance on China could cause friction with the US A White House official said this week that South Korea's election was fair, but expressed concern about Chinese interference in what analysts said may have been a cautionary message to Lee. Speaking in Singapore last week, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said many countries were tempted by the idea of seeking economic co-operation with China and defence co-operation with the United States, and warned that such entanglement complicated defence co-operation. [[nid:718821]]
Independent Singapore
3 hours ago
- Independent Singapore
S'poreans defend ministers' business class selfies after LinkedIn post sparks fuss
SINGAPORE: A woman caused a bit of a stir online after calling out in a LinkedIn post government officials who post selfies when they fly business class for official trips. In her post, the woman, whose bio says she is a joint managing partner at a law firm, writes an open letter to political officeholders. 'I know it's important to signal that you're hard at work and that promises made during the election period were not empty ones. I hereby clap for you. But sharing photos of you dashing about on work trips IN A BUSINESS CLASS SEAT is distinctly counterproductive. It's a humblebrag.' She added that the only acceptable situation for posting a selfie on the plane would be when one performs a heroic act, but took that back, saying it 'would not be cool either.' When a commenter on her post said that office holders could travel first class, and therefore the post had not been a humble brag, the post author doubled down, saying it was 'tone deaf from a comms angle.' Another commenter, who had seen a recent post of this nature from a top government official, wrote, 'It's literally just him with the headrest, talking about being glad to go home,' and added that the woman's post is 'so unnecessary.' The post author clarified that she was not referring to anyone in particular. 'I don't know who 'him' in your post refers to. I'm not talking about any specific POH or any specific post. I wouldn't be so cowardly as to do that without stating details. I've noticed a number of posts showing politicians doing this and think it's counterproductive from a comms perspective, and it's this trend I'm addressing,' she replied. The commenter fired back with, 'Regardless of who it is, I find virtue signalling on this or bringing this up in the tone that you did, tone deaf, when there are actual bread and butter issues Singaporeans really care about, than this. This just sounded like office water cooler gossip to me.' On Reddit, where the LinkedIn post was shared, and then later on, taken down, some of the commenters were more pointed. 'Why the snarky remarks? Only bigshot lawyers can take Business Class? Please… Stay in your own lane,' wrote one. 'I have zero issues with my taxpayer monies being used to fly a political office holder on business class for work. In fact, I want that for him. Better to have him well-rested and well-fed so that he can handle the important negotiations and discussions that affect the future of this country,' opined another. 'What is she trying to stir? Flying commercial in business class on work trips is not anywhere flaunting wealth or power lor. If the politician took selfies in a private jet, then can bring out the pitchforks and torches,' asked a Reddit user. /TISG Read also: Woman in LinkedIn post about meeting Piyush Gupta says her social media manager made up the story and demanded S$5K to take it down See also Hong Kong approves jail terms for 'upskirt' shots
CNA
4 hours ago
- CNA
Japan trade negotiator says progress made in US tariff talks
TOKYO: Japan had made some progress in a fifth round of trade talks with United States officials aimed at ending tariffs that are h urting Japan's economy, Tokyo's chief tariff negotiator said. "Tariffs have already been imposed on autos, auto parts, steel and aluminum, and some of them have doubled to 50 per cent along with 10 per cent general tariff. These are causing daily losses to Japan's economy," Ryosei Akazawa, said in Washington on Friday (June 6) after talks with officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Akazawa declined to say what progress they had made. The latest round of talks may be the last in-person meeting between senior Japanese and US officials before the Group of Seven (G7) leaders summit that starts on June 15, where US President Donald Trump is expected to meet Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. Japan also faces a 24 per cent tariff rate starting in July unless it can negotiate a deal with Washington. "We want an agreement as soon as possible. The G7 summit is on our radar, and if our leaders meet, we want to show what progress has been made," Akazawa said. "Still we must balance urgency with a need to guard our national interests," he added. Last month Japan's trade negotiator said US defence equipment purchases, shipbuilding technology collaboration, a revision of automobile import standards and an increase in agricultural imports could be bargaining chips in tariff talks. In a bid to reach an agreement with the US, Japan is also proposing a mechanism to reduce the auto tariff rate based on how much countries contribute to the US auto industry, the Asahi newspaper reported on Friday.
