South Korea elects its next President: What to know

Mint

2 days ago

South Koreans vote Tuesday to elect their next president and end months of leadership tumult that have followed the country's short-lived imposition of martial law late last year.
The winner of the snap election will determine how Seoul will approach trade talks with Washington, tensions with Beijing and a bellicose Pyongyang. In recent months, South Korea has cycled through three different acting presidents.
The partisan divide in South Korea is so rancorous that the front-runner, the leftist Lee Jae-myung, has delivered speeches in a bulletproof vest behind bulletproof glass, an unusual move for a politician in the country.
Why a snap election?
Former President Yoon Suk Yeol, a conservative, shocked South Korea by invoking emergency powers on Dec. 3, arguing that the country was vulnerable to 'communist forces."
The move backfired, resulting in Yoon's impeachment, indictment for insurrection and removal from office on April 4. That kick-started a 60-day snap election campaign.
Yoon, who took office in 2022 and left about two years before the end of his term, oversaw a flourishing of ties with the U.S., a revival of cooperation with Japan and heightened confrontation with North Korea—hallmarks of South Korean conservatism.
South Korean presidents serve a single, five-year term. The candidate with the most votes wins.
Who is running?
The 61-year-old Lee enjoys a double-digit lead over his rivals, with his support at around 49%, according to Gallup Korea polling. He is a former provincial governor, parliamentarian and head of the Democratic Party. He is South Korea's most popular—and divisive—politician.
He narrowly lost the 2022 presidential election to Yoon. In his second try, Lee has backed some elements of Yoon's foreign-policy approach, such as expanding the U.S. alliance and working with Japan. But he does say South Korea shouldn't exclude or antagonize China or Russia, suggesting more balance with the U.S.
Kim Moon-soo, the nominee from the main conservative People Power Party, served as Yoon's labor minister. He was the only member of Yoon's cabinet who initially refused to apologize for the martial-law declaration. Kim, 73, has since expressed regret. His support sits at around 36%, Gallup Korea says.
What are the key issues?
The race has largely become a referendum on martial law and its fallout, and the ruling conservatives haven't made a clean break from Yoon. A strong majority of South Koreans say in polls they want a change in national leadership.
Supporters of Kim Moon-soo, who appears on a screen in the top right of the image, wave flags during an election campaign rally in Seoul.
Lee has said he won't rush trade talks with the U.S.; Kim has vowed to push for an immediate summit with President Trump on tariffs if elected. Trump could also apply pressure to the next president to share more of the cost of the U.S. troops stationed in South Korea. The U.S. president could also restart denuclearization talks with North Korea.
Rising tensions with China will also likely be a challenge for the next president. Beijing has irritated Seoul recently by installing observation buoys in the Yellow Sea near the two countries' shared maritime border.
Write to Timothy W. Martin at [e-mail]