Latest news with #Incheon
Al Jazeera
7 hours ago
- Business
- Al Jazeera
South Korea election results 2025 live: Lee Jae-myung projected to win
Exit polls show Lee Jae-myung of the opposition Democratic Party of Korea winning more than 50 percent of the vote in today's snap election while Kim Moon-soo of the governing conservative People Power Party trails behind with about 39 snap vote was called after former leader Yoon Suk-yeol was impeached and removed from office over his shock martial law counting is under way across the country, and the winner is expected to become clear when 70 percent of votes are counted, at about midnight local Koreans turned out in large numbers for the vote, with a turnout of 79.4 percent, the highest in a presidential election since 1997. Update: Date: 3m ago (14:40 GMT) Title: Lee's supporters gather outside his home Content: Hundreds of people have congregated outside Lee's home in the city of Incheon, near the capital, Seul, to celebrate his projected victory, according to the Yonhap news agency. The crowds are urging Lee to come out and address them. Lee is believed to be following the results at the residence, which has been cordoned off, Yonhap reported. Update: Date: 13m ago (14:30 GMT) Title: What challenges await South Korea's new president? Content: At the top of the issues is tariff negotiations with the United States. The next leader will have little time to negotiate with Washington before July 9, when President Donald Trump's 90-day pause on global tariffs expires, potentially exposing South Korean products to 25 percent tax rates. The new leader will also struggle to ease tensions with neighbouring North Korea and balance relations between the US, South Korea's most important security guarantor, and China, its biggest trade partner. On the domestic front, the new president will need to spur stalled economic growth and unify a nation that is deeply divided over Yoon's failed martial law bid. For months, millions of people have rallied for months to either support or denounce Yoon. Yoon's legal saga is also likely to overshadow the early months of Seoul's next government, as the former president continues to stand trial on high-stakes rebellion charges, which carry a possible sentence of death or life in prison. Update: Date: 23m ago (14:20 GMT) Title: Voters want to show 'democracy is not broken in South Korea' Content: Many Koreans say they wanted this election to be about getting democracy back on track. To show the world that democracy is not broken in South Korea, following the startling message that a few hours of martial law sent out back in December. In private, many people concede that democracy narrowly [withstood that test]. What if lawmakers had not climbed over the National Assembly fence and pushed their way through soldiers, some of whom pointed weapons at them, to hold a vote in the chamber to end martial law? What if then-President Yoon had not accepted [their vote]? And what if just one of those soldiers had fired a shot? Things could have turned out very differently. That is why Lee Jae-myung has said one of his top priorities will be changing the constitution to ensure it is much harder to enact martial law. There are many other big priorities for Korean voters – mostly regarding the economy. The uniting force behind so many swing voters and even conservatives who wouldn't normally vote for Lee to come out was not so much to support Lee but to punish the ruling party. Update: Date: 33m ago (14:10 GMT) Title: New Reform Party candidate concedes defeat Content: Lee Jun-seok, who is projected to finish third according to exit polls, has conceded defeat in today's vote. 'The exit polls suggest Lee Jae-myung will be elected as the president, and I expect him to make careful and accurate decisions on national unity and the economy,' the conservative politician said at the National Assembly in Seoul. Lee, who is 40, added that his New Reform Party will 'continue to fulfil its role as an opposition party' and that he had no regrets about refusing Kim's overtures to merge candidacies. 'Unification was never something we seriously considered,' he said. 'Judging by the results, the burden now facing the conservative bloc is to prioritise innovation over mere alliances.' Update: Date: 42m ago (14:00 GMT) Title: Lee leads in early vote count Content: Preliminary results are rolling in. According to the NEC, 23.83 percent of votes have been counted nationwide. Lee has won 47.81 percent of the ballots while Kim has 43.99 percent. Update: Date: 48m ago (13:55 GMT) Title: If you're just joining us Content: Let's bring you up to speed: Update: Date: 58m ago (13:45 GMT) Title: Tears as Lee's supporters celebrate projected win Content: We've been speaking to Lee's supporters in the Cheonggye Plaza in Seoul. Park Jung-hwan is here with his group who play traditional Korean instruments. He plans to play his traditional Korean drum after the vote results come in. 'In 2022, I cried because Yoon Suk-yeol won by the smallest margins and I knew that our country was headed into disaster. I was so worried about the future generation of our country that I couldn't go to work for a month,' said the physical therapist from Seoul's Geumcheon-gu district. 'But tonight, I cried as our country showed hope again.' Another supporter said she also cried when the exit poll came out Kim Jeong-hee, who flew all the way from her home in France on the day Yoon was impeached back in April, said she hoped for change in South Korea. 'Our country is known as a democracy, but recent events have showed how a few of the elite maintain unjustified power over the [masses],' she said. 'It's going to continue being the job of civilians like the crowd here tonight to protect our new president and our society while working for change.' Update: Date: 1h ago (13:35 GMT) Title: NEC expects 70 percent of vote to be counted by midnight Content: As we've reported, vote counting is now under way across South Korea. The National Election Commission expects 70-80 percent of the ballots to be tallied by midnight local time (15:00 GMT), likely offering a clear picture of the winner, according to the Yonhap news agency. Vote counting will continue into Wednesday morning. Update: Date: 1h ago (13:25 GMT) Title: People Power Party official calls projected loss 'very disappointing' Content: Na Kyung-won, co-chair of the conservative party's election campaign, has called the projected defeat 'somewhat shocking,' saying she had expected a much closer race. 'It is very disappointing that there is such a large difference,' she said in comments carried by the Yonhap news agency. Na blamed 'confusion within the party' for delays in the campaign and expressed frustration that 'negative news' about Lee Jae-myung had not reached the public early enough to affect the result. Update: Date: 1h ago (13:15 GMT) Title: Photos: Vote counting under way in Seoul Content:
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- General
- South China Morning Post
Baby dies aboard Philippines-South Korea flight after premature birth
A baby boy born prematurely aboard a Jeju Air flight from the Philippines to Incheon, South Korea , has died, according to airport police. Emergency responders received a report early Sunday morning that an infant delivered mid-flight was not breathing, The Korea Herald newspaper reported. By the time medical personnel arrived, the newborn had no pulse and was pronounced dead after being transported to a nearby hospital. The mother, a Filipino woman in her thirties, was travelling from Clark with her husband, mother-in-law and daughter on the flight, which landed at the country's main airport at around 6.20am. She was in her 23rd to 25th week of pregnancy, Yonhap News reported. Under airline regulations, women before their 32nd week of pregnancy face no flight restrictions. Incheon Airport police are investigating the case as it falls under their jurisdiction. Photo: Shutterstock The airport police are investigating the incident as, under international law, a nation retains legal authority – known as flag state jurisdiction – over its flagged vessels, including aircraft. 'As the baby was born and died on a Korean-flagged aircraft, Korean authorities will handle the investigation,' a police official said, according to the Korea JoongAng Daily. 'We will thoroughly examine the circumstances of the birth and what led to the child's death.'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Great hex-pectations: shamans divided on South Korea's political destiny
The outcome of this week's presidential elections in South Korea may still be unknown, but shaman Yang Su-bong tells AFP the winner came to her in visions years ago. South Koreans go to the polls on Tuesday to choose their next president, a snap vote triggered by ex-leader Yoon Suk Yeol's disastrous declaration of martial law in December. And for Yang, a traditional Korean "mudang", it's clear that liberal frontrunner Lee Jae-myung will emerge victorious -- a prediction that chimes with all major opinion polls that put Lee well ahead in the presidential race. The latest Gallup survey show 49 percent of respondents viewing Lee as the best candidate, while Kim Moon-soo, from the conservative People Power Party (PPP) was trailing on 35 percent. "From the beginning, I've seen Lee Jae-myung becoming president," Yang told AFP at her office in the western port city of Incheon. "I saw a presidential aura," she explained, adding that she faced "criticism and even threats" for her prediction. "But I can't lie about what I see." Shamanism has shaped culture and belief on the Korean peninsula for centuries. South Koreans still regularly turn to them for advice on everything from their love lives to important business decisions and cities, and the registrar of the country's largest shamanic organisation lists 300,000 practising in the country. But the folk religion has also come under the spotlight for all the wrong reasons -- two presidential impeachments have been linked to undue influence allegedly wielded by shamans. Former President Park Geun-hye was removed from office in 2017 in an influence-peddling scandal involving claims of, among other things, participation in shamanistic rituals. Ousted ex-leader Yoon and his first lady Kim Keon Hee have also been accused of turning to sketchy shamans when making decisions -- including, it is alleged, the fateful martial declaration. - 'Intense emotions' - Claims like that provoke an "intense emotional reaction" in South Korean society -- in part because the country's history is full of leaders led astray by unscrupulous spiritual advisors, Lee Won-jae, a sociologist at South Korea's KAIST university, told AFP. "When it comes to dramatising politics, there's nothing quite as effective as invoking shamanistic themes," he said. "Mudang" or shaman act as intermediaries between the world of spirits and everyday life. Their elaborate "gut" ceremonies can be hours-long affairs, with cacophonic music, singing and prayers used to ward off evil spirits or hope for a good harvest. Hit thrillers like last year's "Exhuma" -- which features a group of shamans fighting an ancient evil spirit -- have piqued public interest. And some shamans now even turn to social media to ply their craft, livestreaming on YouTube and offering advice over video calls. Shaman Lee Dong-hyeon, who goes by Ohbangdoryeong -- "guardian of the five directions" -- says he was approached by local politicians after predicting Yoon's untimely fall three years ago. "To become a truly great person, you must learn to carry burdens," he told AFP. Yoon "lacks that destiny", he said. And "despite his age, he lacks judgement", he said. - 'Truth can be uncomfortable' - Ohbangdoryeong engages in "sword rituals" -- licking the sharp blade of a knife in a bid to receive messages from deities. He isn't so sure that frontrunner Lee will help end South Korea's political turmoil. "Things will stabilise for two years, but then there will be bloodshed -- political purges," he darkly predicted. Fellow shaman Hong Myeong-hui agreed that turbulent times could be ahead. She said conservative contender Kim Moon-soo has a "quiet fire" in him. But liberal Lee's "energy is fast and consuming, like a wildfire in spring", she said. "His term will be stormy," Hong said. "Prophecy isn't for pleasing people -- it's for truth. And truth can be uncomfortable." No matter if the predictions ring true, what is clear that the new president will have to helm South Korea through a period of economic turbulence, as the trade-dependent nation will be facing steep tariffs from the United States while struggling with sluggish demand at home. sks-oho/ceb/hmn
Free Malaysia Today
5 days ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
S. Korea's liberal candidate Lee holds clear lead a week before presidential vote
Democratic Party's presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung speaks during a presidential election campaign in Incheon. (AP pic) SEOUL : South Korea's liberal frontrunner for president Lee Jae-myung was leading his main conservative rival Kim Moon-soo by more than 10 percentage points in an opinion poll issued on Tuesday, though the race had tightened a week ahead of the election. The deeply polarised country holds a snap election on June 3 to pick a successor to ousted leader Yoon Suk-yeol, whose brief martial law imposition heightened long-simmering political disputes and sparked massive nationwide protests. The next leader will have to mend the reputation of a country that transitioned from dictatorship to a democratic success story in the 1980s while spurring stalled growth, managing uncertain US trade policies and dealing with nuclear-armed North Korea. The Democratic Party candidate Lee, who has advocated using fiscal policy to support the economy and bringing to justice anyone involved in Yoon's botched attempt to declare martial law in December, had 49% public support against Kim of the People Power Party with 35%, the Gallup Korea poll showed. Kim has eroded what was a more than 20 percentage point gap with Lee at the start of the campaign on May 12, but has failed to convince another conservative candidate – New Reform Party's Lee Jun-seok – to drop out and back him to improve his chances. Yoon was ousted on April 4 by the constitutional court after he was impeached and is on trial on insurrection charges accused of trying to arrest Lee and others who repeatedly clashed with him while in office. Third-party candidate Lee Jun-seok had 11%, according to the poll, which was one of the last major surveys to be published before a week-long blackout period that begins on Wednesday, when new polls are banned from publication by law. Asia's fourth-largest economy contracted in the first quarter as exports and consumption stalled, amid fears over the impact of Washington's aggressive tariffs and political turmoil at home. South Korea has been in trade talks with the US and is seeking a waiver from the tariffs President Donald Trump announced as his administration pressures Seoul to resolve a large trade imbalance between the partners. Kim, who was a hardline labour minister under Yoon, has tried to court centrist voters, pledging business-friendly policies including deregulation and investment incentives and a tough stance against North Korea. The conservative candidate Kim has also sought to widen his support base by uniting forces with the main third-party candidate Lee Jun-seok in a move that could make the race a virtual tie, but his overtures have been rebuffed so far. In a sign of divisions on the liberal side, however, former prime minister Lee Nak-yon, who represents a minority faction in the Democratic Party, announced his support for Kim on Tuesday, saying Lee's tendency to abuse majority power must be checked. Still, Lee was likely to maintain a comfortable lead in the absence of a major unexpected turn that could shake up the race, said Choi Jin, director of the Seoul-based Presidential Leadership Institute. 'It seems almost impossible at this point that (Lee) will make a fatal mistake or (Kim) will pull off something that will touch the heart of the whole country,' Choi said.
The Independent
5 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
South Koreans turn out in huge numbers for early voting after months-long political crisis
South Koreans turned out in large numbers as early voting kicked off on Thursday in the snap presidential election following months of political instability and chaos. The high-stakes election was precipitated by a constitutional crisis caused by former president Yoon Suk Yeol's disastrous attempt last December to impose martial law, throwing the country into chaos and sparking widespread protests. The liberal opposition Democratic Party's candidate Lee Jae Myung, the favourite to win, cast his ballot in Seoul, urging people to vote. 'In order to overcome the current crisis and start again as a Korea of recovery and growth, please vote," he said after casting his ballot at a university district in the city. His closest rival, Kim Moon Soo of Mr Yoon's People Power Party, cast his vote in Incheon along with his daughter. "If you do not vote, there is no hope for this country," Mr Kim, 73, the oldest contender in the presidential race, said. He warned that victory for his rival would "take away freedom' after previously calling Mr Lee a harbinger of 'monster politics and dictatorship'. The latest and last poll on the possible winner of the presidential election on Wednesday showed Mr Lee leading Mr Kim by 49.2 per cent to 36.8 per cent. New Reform Party's Lee Jun Seok stood third with 10.3 per cent support. Early voting began at 3,568 polling stations in the country, five days before the main election day on 3 June. According to the National Election Commission, 6.2 million registered voters, 14 per cent of all eligible voters, had cast their vote by 3am local time. It was the highest turnout for the equivalent period in a presidential election, besting the 12 per cent recorded three years ago. South Korea has 44.39 million eligible voters, with women accounting for 50.5 per cent of them, according to data from the interior ministry. On 3 June, a public holiday, voting will run from 6am until 8pm, and results will likely start emerging that evening or early the next day. The National Election Commission is expected to verify the results on 4 June, paving the way for the inauguration of the new president. This election is to fill the political vacuum created by Mr Yoon's removal in April for violating the constitution by imposing martial law decree on 3 December. Mr Yoon's martial law decree, the first in South Korea for about 40 years, was supposedly intended, in part at least, to break political deadlock in the opposition-controlled parliament. It was swiftly overturned by lawmakers, who went on to impeach him. The incoming president will need to ease political divisions and tackle economic problems and work with the US on issues like tariffs and the cost of hosting American troops. On Thursday, the Bank of Korea cut interest rates and slashed its 2025 growth forecast for the fourth-largest economy in Asia to 0.8 per cent from 1.5 per cent. The snap election is one of the most tightly fought in South Korea. Political uncertainty and lack of clarity about the policies of the leading candidates have divided voters, Indo-Pacific and Korea affairs analyst Dr Jagannath Panda argued. 'Domestically, the new president's challenge will be how to keep the economy in order while looking for more employment opportunities for the young generations. Upholding economic stability will be a core focus of the new President,' Dr Panda, head of the Stockholm Centre for South Asian and Indo-Pacific Affairs at the Institute for Security and Development Policy in Sweden, told The Independent. The new leader will be called upon to manage relations with chief ally US, a relationship made unpredictable by Donald Trump 's presidency, as well as with chief adversary North Korea. 'The new South Korean president will have a challenge in maintaining a balance between the United States and North Korea,' Dr Panda said.
