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The Star
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
Early voting starts for election triggered by martial law
Done and dusted: Lee Jun-seok, the presidential candidate for South Korea's New Reform Party, casting his early vote at a polling station in Hwaseong. — Reuters Early voting in South Korea's presidential elections began with both main candidates casting ballots in a poll triggered by ex-leader Yoon Suk-yeol's ill-fated suspension of civilian rule last year. South Koreans are desperate to draw a line under months of political turmoil sparked by Yoon's declaration of martial law, for which he was impeached. Since then, the Asian democracy has been led by a revolving door of lame duck acting presidents as its export-driven economy grapples with trade turmoil abroad and sluggish demand at home. All major polls have placed liberal Lee Jae-myung as the clear frontrunner in the presidential race, with a recent Gallup survey showing 49% of respondents viewed him as the best candidate. Trailing behind him is conservative ex-labour minister Kim Moon-soo of the ruling People Power Party – Yoon's former party – at 35%. While election day is set for June 3, those who want to vote early can do so yesterday and today. South Koreans have in recent years turned out in growing numbers for early voting, with 37% casting their ballots ahead of polling day in the 2022 presidential election. By midday, the early voting turnout rate was 8.7%, the highest yet for that time in South Korean election history, according to Seoul's National Election Commission. The overseas voter turnout also reached a historic high, with four-fifths of 1.97 million eligible voters casting their ballots. 'Given that this election was held in the wake of an impeachment and a martial law crisis, it naturally reflects the public's strong desire to express their thoughts about democracy in South Korea,' Kang Joo-hyun, a political science professor at Sookmyung Women's University, said. Voting in Seoul yesterday morning, Lee told reporters: 'There's a saying that a vote is more powerful than a bullet.' 'Even an insurrection can only truly be overcome through the people's participation at the ballot box,' added Lee of the Democratic Party. According to a Gallup poll, more than half of his supporters said they planned to vote early, compared to just 16% of Kim's supporters. Kim has said he will cast his vote in Incheon, west of Seoul, with his campaign framing it as 'the beginning of a dramatic turnaround', a nod to Gen Douglas MacArthur's landing there during the Korean War. Kim's decision to vote early has surprised many on the right, where conspiracy theories about electoral fraud – particularly during early voting – are rife. The 73-year-old however reassured his supporters that there is 'nothing to worry about'. 'If you hesitate to vote early and end up missing the main election, it would be a major loss,' said Kim on Wednesday. 'Our party will mobilise all its resources to ensure strict monitoring and oversight of early voting. So please don't worry and take part in it,' he said. After early voting, Kim insisted he still has time to win the race. 'We're closing the gap quickly, and at this pace, I'm confident we'll take the lead soon,' he said. Conservative candidate Kim shot to public attention in the aftermath of Yoon's martial law debacle, when he declined to bow in apology to the public for failing to prevent the suspension of civilian rule. In contrast, lawyer-turned-politician Lee played a central role in stopping the push to suspect civilian rule, live-streaming his frantic drive to parliament and his scramble over the perimeter fence as he and other lawmakers raced to vote down the decree. He has since vowed to 'bring insurrection elements to justice' if elected president. But whoever succeeds Yoon will have to grapple with a deepening economic downturn, some of the world's lowest birth rates and a soaring cost of living. He will also have to navigate a mounting superpower standoff between the United States, Seoul's traditional security guarantor, and China, its largest trade partner. — AFP
Korea Herald
3 days ago
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Lee Jun-seok's graphic language in debate leads to human rights petitions: report
Over 30 petitions filed concerning the presidential candidate's reference to Lee Jae-myung's son's "chopstick" remarks The furor surrounding the presidential candidate Lee Jun-seok's repetition of sexually violent language used by another candidate's son continued to grow, as a local media outlet reported Thursday that 35 petitions related to Lee's remarks have been filed to the state human rights watchdog. According to the Korean-language Hankoreh newspaper, multiple individuals across both genders and different age groups have submitted the petitions to the National Human Rights Commission, complaining that Lee's comments were sexually demeaning to women and overly graphic. Lee of the minor New Reform Party made the comments during a live TV debate on Tuesday. "Such comment cannot be considered a simple gaffe or slip of tongue, but a premediated expression of hatred. I would like to urge the NHRC's investigation for infringement of human rights, in that (Lee) has proliferated discrimination and hatred toward women and social minorities in a public area and during election," a female petitioner in her 50s claimed in her petition. During the TV debate, he addressed the liberal candidates Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea and Kwon Young-gook of the Democratic Labor Party, asking if it could be considered a misogyny if someone said, "I want to put a chopstick inside a woman's genitals." Both candidates refused to directly answer the question, with Kwon saying he cannot fathom why he is asking such question. The question was a reference to online comments made by the son of Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung. The son of DP's Lee was summarily indicted for the comment online and was fined 5 million won ($3,600) in 2024, but the remark used graphic language for male genitalia. But Lee Jun-seok argued in a separate interview that the comment cannot definitively determined as referring to male genitalia. Lee Jun-seok accused of misogyny Regardless of the offensive words used by the DP candidate's son, petitioners are issuing complaints over Lee Jun-seok repeating the language on TV. Another petitioner surnamed Jeong, a man in his 20s, pointed out that the New Reform Party candidate has repeatedly used remarks that can be seen as discriminatory toward women, physically disabled, senior citizens and other social minorities. The NHRC officially described one of Lee's comments as an example of a hate speech in its booklet published in November of 2021. The comment was made during an interview on May of 2021, Lee said, "Through movies and novels, women in their 20s and 30s have clearly developed a groundless victim mentality that they are being discriminated.' Lee Jun-seok initially stated Wednesday morning that his comments were just to reaffirm the two candidates' position on "unbelievable level of comment made by someone online," criticizing what "the hypocrisy of the liberal faction." But after a barrage of criticism against him, he issued a public apology. "I knew of course that some of the public would have been uncomfortable watching that (comment on TV debate), and for that, I offer my sincere apology," he told reporters after a campaign rally in Seoul. He maintained defense of his comments, saying the issue deserved to be scrutinized. Lee went onto say that he does not know how else to tone down the language on the comment, and said DP's Lee has not sufficiently offered explanations about his son. Lee held a press conference on Thursday morning, and claimed that his comments are not his own creation, but a "toned down version of what Lee Jae-myung's son wrote on an online community."
Korea Herald
3 days ago
- Business
- Korea Herald
Clock is ticking, but demographic crisis gets drowned out in presidential race
Candidates repeat old pledges, but experts see no strategy for demographic turnaround The compounding challenges of South Korea's low birth rate and the onset of a super-aged society have drawn little focus on the presidential campaign trail for the June 3 presidential election. The numbers alone underscore the urgency of strategically and systemically confronting the demographic crisis. South Korea's fertility rate was recorded at 0.75 in 2024, meaning the average South Korean woman is expected to have fewer than one child in her lifetime. Still, the country found a sliver of relief in the data, as 2024 marked the first time in nine years that the birth rate had not declined. At the same time, however, the nation officially transitioned into a 'super-aged society' in December 2024 — a milestone that arrived earlier than expected. Observers called for a more holistic approach to devising campaign promises that tackle these demographic challenges, saying the next five years would be crucial to determining the country's fate. They warned that South Korea might otherwise be plagued by a range of social problems: the demise of remote rural areas, a workforce shortage, weaker military strength and a pension fund crisis, among other things. At the moment, most of the presidential candidates' promises have centered on financial incentives to alleviate demographic crises, rather than blueprints to overcome the deep-rooted challenges. The issue of tackling the low birth rate emerged as one of the "top 10" campaign promises, disclosed via the election authorities, made by both liberal Democratic Party of Korea candidate Rep. Lee Jae-myung and conservative People Power Party candidate Kim Moon-soo. Both Lee and Kim promised to provide housing support, tax relief and other financial incentives to assist with child-rearing costs. The two also proposed to provide financial support for infertility treatment and encouraged the creation of state-sponsored child investment accounts upon a child's birth. The candidates from the two main parties both promised that they would begin implementing these policies this year if elected. Targeting the growing number of older adults — in the country where more than 20 percent of the population is aged 65 or older — Lee and Kim both proposed plans to have nursing expenses in senior care centers covered by the National Health Insurance System, and enhance the sustainability of South Korea's mandatory retirement scheme. The minor conservative New Reform Party candidate, Rep. Lee Jun-seok, suggested a tax incentive for newly married couples purchasing a new house in his "top 10" campaign promises, but the demographic issue was not included in his top pledges. Stale incentives, no strategy Experts doubted that voters could expect more than a gradual expansion of ongoing government projects for financial incentives, as opposed to a comprehensive blueprint. 'A major shift in this population strategy is essential for the sake of the country's survival and citizens' quality of life and happiness, but no presidential candidate has declared that such a shift will be taken up as their most important agenda,' Kim Young-mi, professor of social welfare at Dongseo University, told The Korea Herald. According to the candidates' campaign pledges filed with the election authorities, none of the top three candidates estimated the cost that the country would have to cover to implement such policies. The disclosures also revealed that none of them anticipated what the outcome of these policies would be. 'Most of the population crisis-related pledges by these parties to provide financial incentives (to a citizen), stem from policies that have been underway for the past 10 to 15 years,' said Lee Jae-mook, professor of political science at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. 'We need to talk about why it didn't work from a wider perspective.' Kim of Dongseo University, who formerly served as vice chair of the Presidential Committee on Ageing Society and Population Policy during Yoon's tenure, suggested that financial incentives to companies could be more effective than current promises meant to offer direct incentives to individual citizens. 'Achieving a work-family balance in a company is not something that can be done through government policies alone,' Kim said. 'Incentives to induce a company to change its working environment are critical, but we cannot find them on the candidates' campaign pledges.' Lee echoed Kim, saying, "The concept of parental leave has actually become widespread in many large companies and state-run institutions, but if you are working in a smaller company, parental leave is still hard to use, which hampers South Korea's championing of work-family balance." Experts also pointed out that, as of Wednesday, no presidential candidate has proposed to establish a ministry dedicated to South Korea's population planning. The former Yoon administration floated a plan to consolidate population planning-related functions across different ministries into a new decision-making ministry. This, led by a deputy prime minister, would be tasked with budget planning and execution of plans at the same time. Kim said it was important for candidates to consider government reorganization during their campaigning period, especially because the next president would take office without a transition period. The June 3 election is an extraordinary one due to former president Yoon's impeachment. 'The reorganization of the government itself might not sound very attractive to voters. … But given the shortage of time for a newly elected leader, there should be a proposal for the reorganization of the government now,' Kim said. A televised debate on Friday involving Democratic Party candidate Lee, New Reform Pary candidate Lee, People Power Party candidate Kim and Democratic Labor Party candidate Kwon Young-gook, will cover social issues including the demographic crisis. 'I don't think there was enough time to prepare campaign pledges because this is an early presidential election (brought on by an impeachment),' said Lee of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, adding the election takes place at a time when voters remain highly ideologically polarized and policy proposals would have less sway over voters.
Korea Herald
4 days ago
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Lee Jun-seok slammed for 'displaying misogyny' at debate
Democratic Party of Korea calls on 3rd party candidate to resign over televised remarks aimed at Lee Jae-myung New Reform Party presidential candidate Lee Jun-seok is facing resignation calls over his mention of what he said was online sexual harassment by a rival candidate's son during Tuesday's televised presidential debate. Halfway through the debate, Lee referred to online comments from three years back allegedly made by the son of Democratic Party of Korea candidate Lee Jae-myung. The New Reform Party candidate's description of the comments included mentions of physical assault and women's body parts. Lee Jun-seok then asked his debate counterpart, Kwon Young-gook of the third Democratic Labor Party, if such remarks would be considered misogynistic based on his party's standards. Kwon declined to respond on the spot, and later clarified in a statement that he did not understand what he was being asked about. "Lee Jun-seok used a public platform like the presidential debate to deliver clearly misogynistic remarks. By quoting these remarks on air, without any filters, he is a perpetrator of misogyny himself," Kwon said. The Democratic Labor Party soon issued a statement urging Lee to resign for "exposing the South Korean public to verbal sexual harassment." On Wednesday, the Democratic Party of Korea held a series of press conferences calling on the New Reform Party to step down as a presidential candidate and exit the election race, accusing him of public display of misogyny. Following the uproar over his actions during the debate, the New Reform Party candidate told reporters Wednesday he "wouldn't know how to water down the comments." "I was merely quoting what was said (by Lee Jae-myung's son)," he said. He then apologized for making people uncomfortable, but he felt it was important that such behavior by a member of a presidential candidate's family be put under public scrutiny. Lee Jae-myung, without mentioning the New Reform Party candidate, said in a statement Wednesday that South Korean politics was being "bombarded with language of hatred." "As a presidential candidate, I am ashamed. This election should be about policies and visions for this country. Instead, it has turned into hateful and divisive rhetoric," the Democratic Party of Korea candidate said. The last time he ran for president in the 2022 race, also as the Democratic Party's candidate, Lee had apologized for his son's "imprudent behavior."
Korea Herald
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
'When was last time you kissed?' YouTuber gets personal with presidential candidates
The three leading candidates in next week's presidential election each appeared on comedian Hong Jin-kyung's YouTube channel recently, as the host made inquiries ranging from policy to the personal. Hong, 47, who is also known for her kimchi business, said she invited Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea, Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party and Lee Jun-seok of the New Reform Party for lighthearted interviews ahead of the election. In a preview video of the interviews posted Monday, Hong asks each candidate about their last smooch. Front-runner Lee Jae-myung, 60, retorted jokingly, "Who would answer that question?" while Kim, 73, said, "I kiss daily." Lee, 40, of the minor party seemed to pass over the question with a laugh. Both the elder Lee and Kim are married, while Lee of the New Reform Party remains single. Asked about their key policies as president, Kim reiterated his pledge for a 100 million won ($73,000) subsidy for every childbirth. Lee Jun-seok said he would emphasize math education. Lee Jae-myung, on the other hand, said he would eradicate "abnormal driving," although the short video clip did not elaborate on what he meant specifically. The full interviews of each candidate are to be posted on the channel on Wednesday, in the order of Kim at 8 a.m., the New Reform Party's Lee at 1 p.m. and the Democratic Party's Lee at 6 p.m.
