
South Korean presidential candidates seek support on last Sunday before election
South Korean presidential candidates from the ruling and opposition parties stumped on the streets to rally support on the last Sunday before election day.
The two leading contenders in Tuesday's vote are Lee Jae-myung of the largest opposition Democratic Party and Kim Moon-soo of the ruling People Power Party.
Lee traveled to relatively conservative areas, such as Busan and Daegu. He stressed that he will help the country overcome divisions.
Lee pledged to revitalize economic activities through such measures as establishing an investment bank to boost a regional economy.
Kim visited areas including the capital Seoul, as well as Gyeonggi Province where he had served as governor.
Kim promised to turn around the employment situation, which has left many university graduates struggling to land jobs. He also vowed to further improve metropolitan transportation infrastructure.
Early voting took place on Thursday and Friday. Turnout was 34.74 percent, more than 2 percentage points lower than that of the 2022 presidential election. But it was still the second-highest turnout of past national elections.
Both candidates are expected to campaign in large cities on Monday.
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Japan Times
2 hours ago
- Japan Times
South Korea votes for new president after months of turmoil
South Korean voters headed to the polls to pick a new president on Tuesday, with the two leading candidates vowing to revive an ailing economy and put months of turmoil over a failed martial law attempt in the rearview mirror. The poll is effectively pitting Liberal front-runner Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party (DP) against conservative rival Kim Moon-soo of the governing People Power Party (PPP). Tuesday has been designated a public holiday, with voting precincts opening at 6 a.m. local time and due to close at 8 p.m, while South Koreans overseas were allowed to vote early from May 20 to 25. The snap election was triggered by the ouster of Yoon Suk Yeol, who briefly imposed martial law in December, unsettling many South Koreans who saw the move as a reminder of the country's authoritarian past. The winner must face the challenge of stabilizing the country after months of political turmoil that saw Yoon booted from office — fracturing the country along party lines and putting the South Korean economy in a state of limbo. But the results will also have far-ranging foreign policy implications, including for closer relations with Japan and the U.S., as well as soured ties with China. Depending on the victor, the result could also signal a shift in South Korea's approach to nuclear-armed North Korea. Barring an unforeseen development, observers say a victory by Lee — who has consistently led in opinion polls since entering the race — appears all but certain. Lee, who lost by a razor-thin margin to Yoon Suk Yeol in the 2022 election, held commanding leads in polls throughout the campaign, and remained ahead with 49% support against 35% for Kim Moon, one final opinion poll released by Gallup Korea on May 27 showed. Another right-leaning candidate, the Reform Party's Lee Jun-seok, received 11% support. While Kim had eroded a more than 20 percentage point gap with Lee at the start of the campaign on May 12, he failed to convince the Reform Party candidate to back him to avoid splitting the conservative vote. Exit polls released immediately after polls close could offer clarity about the winner far more quickly than the last presidential election, when the victor remained unknown until the early hours the following day. The next president — who will take office immediately for a single, five-year term and will not have the advantage of a formal transition, unlike with many prior elections — will instantly face a host of challenges. First and foremost, he will be expected to tackle a deepening economic downturn and shepherd through tough tariff negotiations with the U.S., which has slapped its South Korean ally with a 25% levy on key exports such as steel, aluminium and automobiles. In a nationwide survey conducted early last month by the Dong-A Ilbo newspaper , 40.7% of respondents cited 'revitalizing the economy and securing future growth engines' as the next president's most pressing task. Resolving social conflict and promoting national unity was a distant second at 21.7%. But there's a host of other challenges the next president will also need to face. These include the country's rapidly graying society and plummeting birthrate, an urgent demographic crisis also seen in neighboring Japan and China. Young couples and singles commonly complain about the soaring costs of child care, discrimination against working parents and gender inequality. With women making up 50.5% of South Korea's 44.39 million eligible voters, the demographic could have a sizable impact on the result despite all of the candidates remaining in the race being men — the first time since 2007 that no women are in the final lineup. South Korea has elected only one female leader: Park Geun-hye, who took office in 2013 and was impeached in 2017.


Japan Today
3 hours ago
- Japan Today
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Supporters of Kim Moon Soo, presidential candidate with the People Power Party, perform during his election campaign rally in Seoul, South Korea, late Monday, June 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) By HYUNG-JIN KIM and KIM TONG-HYUNG Millions of South Koreans are voting Tuesday for a new president in a snap election triggered by the ouster of Yoon Suk Yeol, a conservative who now faces an explosive trial on rebellion charges over his short-lived imposition of martial law in December. Pre-election surveys suggested Yoon's liberal archrival, Lee Jae-myung, appeared headed for an easy win, riding on deep public frustration over the conservatives in the wake of Yoon's martial law debacle. The main conservative candidate, Kim Moon Soo, has struggled to win over moderate, swing voters as his People Power Party remains in a quagmire of internal feuding over how to view Yoon's actions. This election serves as another defining moment in the country's resilient democracy, but observers worry a domestic divide worsened by Yoon is far from over and could pose a big political burden on the new president. The past six months saw large crowds of people rallying in the streets to either denounce or support Yoon, while a leadership vacuum caused by Yoon's impeachment and ensuing formal dismissal rattled the country's high-level diplomatic activities and financial markets. The winning candidate will immediately be sworn in as president Wednesday for a single, full term of five years without the typical two-month transition period. The new president will face major challenges including a slowing economy, President Donald Trump's America-first policies and North Korea's evolving nuclear threats. The election commission says voting began at 6 a.m. at 14,295 polling stations nationwide that will close at 8 p.m. Observers say the winner could emerge as early as midnight. Lee, whose Democratic Party led the legislative effort to oust Yoon, has emerged as the clear frontrunner in opinion surveys released in recent weeks. More than 15 million people already have cast ballots during a two-day early voting period last week, accounting for nearly 35% of the country's 44.4 million eligible voters. In his final campaign speeches Monday, Lee promised to revitalize the economy, reduce inequality and ease national divisions. He urged the people to vote for him, arguing that a win by Kim would allow Yoon's 'rebellion forces' to return. 'If they somehow win, that would mean the return of the rebellion forces, the destruction of democracy, the deprival of people's human rights, the normalization of martial law and our country's downfall into a backward, third-world nation,' Lee told the crowd gathered at a Seoul park. Kim, a former labor minister under Yoon, warned that a Lee win would allow him to wield excessive power, launch political retaliation against opponents and legislate laws to protect him from various legal troubles, as his party already controls parliament. Lee 'is now trying to seize all power in South Korea and establish a Hitler-like dictatorship,' Kim told a rally in the southeastern city of Busan. Lee, who led the opposition-led campaign to oust Yoon, has been a highly divisive figure in South Korean politics for years. As a former child laborer known for his inspirational rags-to-riches story, Lee came to fame through biting criticism of the country's conservative establishment and calls to build a more assertive South Korea in foreign policy. That rhetoric has given him an image as someone who can institute sweeping reforms and fix the country's deep-seated economic inequality and corruption. His critics view him as a dangerous populist who relies on a political division and backpedals on promises too easily. On foreign policy, Lee has not made any contentious remarks recently and has steadfastly vowed to pursue pragmatic diplomacy. He has called South Korea's alliance with the U.S. the foundation of its foreign policy and promised to solidify a trilateral Seoul-Washington-Tokyo partnership, a stance that is not much different than the position held by South Korea's conservatives. Experts say there aren't many diplomatic options for South Korea as it tries to address Trump's tariff hikes and calls for South Korea to pay more for the cost of the U.S. military presence, as well as North Korea's headlong pursuit of nuclear weapons. Experts say that has made both Lee and Kim avoid unveiling ambitious foreign policy goals. Lee's government still could become engaged in 'a little bit of friction' with the Trump administration, while Kim's government, which prioritize relations with Washington, will likely offer more concessions to the U.S., said Chung Jin-young, a former dean of the Graduate School of Pan-Pacific International Studies at South Korea's Kyung Hee University. Chung predicted Lee won't be able to pursue overly drastic steps on foreign policy and security, given the country's foreign exchange and financial markets are very vulnerable to such changes. Lee has preached patience over Trump's tariff policy, arguing it would be a mistake to rush negotiations in pursuit of an early agreement with Washington. Kim has said he would meet Trump as soon as possible. On Monday, South Korean trade officials held an emergency meeting to discuss a response to Trump's announcement that the U.S. will raise tariffs on steel and aluminum products to 50% beginning June 4. South Korea's central bank last week sharply lowered its 2025 growth outlook to 0.8%, citing the potential impact of Trump's tariff hikes and weak domestic demand worsened by the political turmoil of past months. Relations with North Korea remain badly strained since 2019, with the North focused on expanding its nuclear arsenal while refusing dialogues with South Korea and the U.S. Since his second term began in January, Trump has repeatedly expressed his intent to resume diplomacy with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, but Kim has so far ignored the offer while making Russia his priority in foreign policy. Lee, who wants warmer ties with North Korea, recently acknowledged it would be 'very difficult' to realize a summit with Kim Jong Un anytime soon. Lee said he would support Trump's push to restart talks with Kim Jong Un, which he believed would eventually allow South Korea to be involved in some projects in North Korea. Foreign policy strategists for Lee understand there isn't much South Korea can do to bring about a denuclearization of North Korea, said Paik Wooyeal, a professor at Seoul's Yonsei University. He said Lee also doesn't share the Korean nationalistic zeal held by ex-liberal President Moon Jae-in, who met Kim Jong Un three times during his 2017-22 term. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.


NHK
4 hours ago
- NHK
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