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ABC News
2 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
South Korea's new president Lee Jae-myung will be busy balancing relations with the US, China and North Korea
South Korea's new president has a gargantuan job ahead. After six months of political chaos, three different interim presidents, protests and legal battles, deep divisions have been exposed in what's considered one of Asia's most successful democracies. President Lee Jae-myung has experienced the worst of this himself. After he survived a serious assassination attempt early last year, he'd been campaigning behind bullet proof glass and wearing a bulletproof vest. Healing society's wounds will be chief among his priorities as he begins his new role. "I will build a truly happy community where we coexist and cooperate over hatred and confrontation," he told supporters as the votes were being finalised. "What the president is responsible for is harmony among others." Voters went to the polls exactly six months to the day since impeached conservative leader Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law, throwing South Korea into chaos. Politicians — including Lee Jae-myung — scaled fences and fended off armed officers to enter the National Assembly so they could vote to block the declaration. They did so successfully and Yoon lifted the order after only six hours, but it dredged up painful memories of South Korea's authoritarian past. Hundreds of thousands of South Koreans rallied calling for Yoon's resignation and impeachment over following weeks. Standing on the wide road leading up to the country's National Assembly, flanked by thousands of other protesters, one young woman cried as she told th ABC she feared that South Korea's democracy had been destroyed. "I think it's tragic, I've lived in a democratic country my whole life and suddenly I feel it's not democratic anymore," she said. Retired teacher Seo Haewoon lived through the last time the government declared martial law more than 40 years ago. He was shocked to see it happen again. "I was looking for a job, four months after finishing my military service, when I saw the martial law army coming, suppressing the civilians," he told the ABC of the declaration in the late 1970s. "I was very confused and shocked. It is still a trauma for me." But Mr Seo is hopeful the country has now learned a valuable lesson. "All political turmoil should be resolved via communication and democratic methods, not with the guns or martial law," he said. "I believe students today have learned the value of democracy. They are looking for a fair society. If the politicians do any bad things like last year, I'm pretty sure the students would rally again. "Martial law cannot be accepted. This demolishes democracy." South Korean media reported that Mr Lee began his official duties at 6.21am, before even being inaugurated. He won't benefit from the usual two month transition period, considering the country was on its third interim president before his election. And there's no doubt there's plenty of urgent work to do. Many South Koreans the ABC spoke to were concerned about the country's economy, some even said they thought Yoon's martial law had deterred tourists from visiting. The other chief concern is negotiating with the US, South Korea's most important ally. The revolving door of presidents over the last few months has stymied South Korea's ability to finalise a deal with the White House. US President Donald Trump wants to put 25 per cent tariffs on South Korea. He also wants the country to pay more for the 28,000 American troops stationed here to deter nuclear armed North Korea. Under Yoon, tensions with the North had grown. Mr Lee is more open to communicating with Pyongyang and fostering on regional alliances, rather than putting all the focus on the US. "I will try my best to recover the economy, restoring livelihoods as soon as possible so that you can come to an end with this difficult periods," Mr Lee told his supporters. "I will build up a peaceful and coexisting Korean peninsula with dominant national defence power, clearly deterring North Korea. "I am sure that genuine security derives from winning without fighting rather than confrontation. With inter-Korean communication we will come to a common prosperity." Navigating these relationships will be one of the key challenges for the new president, according to Chun Chaesung, a professor at the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Seoul National University. "How to maintain a strong US Alliance? That's very difficult, because these days, the US is showing the so called MAGA realism, and President Trump doesn't put more put much emphasis upon the alliance partner," he said. "So it'll be very hard for him to strengthen the alliance, which is critical in deterring North Korea risk of actions in the future." And of course, just across the Yellow Sea, Mr Lee needs to navigate relations with China. "Now the bilateral relationship is really bad, and President Lee thinks that we have to recover the relationship with China, because China is the number one trading partner of South Korea, like your country," Professor Chun said. "So how to achieve these two very difficult, incompatible purposes — which is to maintain [the US] Alliance and recover relations with China — it will be very critical." While many, including Mr Lee, will be hoping his election marks the end of a sorry chapter of South Korea's history, it's likely there is more drama to play out. Yoon is still on trial for insurrection, and he's been indicted for abuse of power. Many of his supporters still feel he's been unfairly treated. And Mr Lee isn't without legal troubles himself. His candidacy was briefly thrown into doubt when the Supreme Court overturned his acquittal for an alleged election law violation. If found guilty he would have been barred from running. The court postponed the retrial until June 18, saying it was "in order to guarantee a fair electioneering opportunity to the defendant, who is a presidential candidate, and eliminate controversies about the fairness of the trial". It's unclear now if that will still go ahead, or if Mr Lee will benefit from presidential immunity. The election result too speaks to the deep divisions remaining in South Korean society. Professor of Political Science at Pusan National University, Robert Kelly, said the outcome — with only 8 per cent between Mr Lee and Mr Kim — should have been a slam dunk for the president-elect's progressive Democratic Party. "The big take-away of the [South] Korean presidential election is not the leftist's victory, but the strength of the right despite the huge scandal of the previous conservative president imposing martial law last year," he posted on X. "If anything should lead to a wave election, it should be impeachment. But it still didn't happen. "That's how polarised South Korean politics is. Wow." Mr Lee's own story exemplifies the magnificent transition the country has seen over his life time. Growing up in poverty, he didn't finish school. Instead, he worked in sweatshops and factories as a teen and was seriously injured in a machinery accident. But he managed to pass the university entrance exam, eventually becoming a human rights lawyer before entering politics. This is his second time running for president — he lost in 2022 to Yoon Suk Yeol by the narrowest margin in South Korea's democratic history. But this time around, with the highest voter turnout in nearly 30 years, Professor Chun argues Mr Lee is in a strong position. "This is the highest vote in 21st century South Korea, reflecting the public's interest and eagerness to move beyond instability and show the resilience of democracy," he told the ABC. "Secondly, Lee Jae-myung took office with a vast majority in the Congress. "So he is backed by a parliamentary majority for his party, which is giving him a very rare, unified government, a strong mandate." But with that, comes the responsibility to meet the expectations of South Koreans hoping to put this saga behind them. Cho Seoyeon, a mother of three told the ABC: "I hope we can live in a better Korea, with our kids — with our next generation — in a better, peaceful place."
News.com.au
3 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
South Korea votes for new president after martial law turmoil
South Koreans flocked to the polls Tuesday to elect a new president, six months to the day after ex-leader Yoon Suk Yeol plunged the country into political chaos with his disastrous declaration of martial law. After months of turmoil and a revolving door of lame-duck acting leaders, many South Koreans are eager for the country to move forward. All major polls have put liberal Lee Jae-myung well ahead, with the latest Gallup survey showing 49 percent of respondents viewed him as the best candidate. Kim Moon-soo, from the conservative People Power Party (PPP), has trailed Lee in the polls and was on 35 percent in the Gallup survey. Whoever emerges victorious will take office almost immediately and faces a bulging in-tray, including global trade vicissitudes chafing the export-driven economy, some of the world's lowest birth rates and an emboldened North Korea rapidly expanding its military arsenal. But the fallout from Yoon's martial law declaration, which has left South Korea effectively leaderless for the first months of US President Donald Trump's tumultuous second term, is the top concern for voters, experts said. Voter Park Dong-shin, 79, told AFP he was voting "to make a new country once again". Yoon's martial law declaration "was the kind of thing done during the old days of dictatorship in our country", he said. He was voting for the candidate who would make sure those responsible were "properly dealt with". - 'Strength of the Korean people' - A handful of elderly voters lined up at a polling station in Seoul's Munrae-dong area at 6:00 am (2100 GMT) to cast their ballots when voting began. "We were the first to arrive with the hope our candidate gets elected," Yu Bun-dol, 80, told AFP, adding she was voting for the PPP -- Yoon's former party. Overall voter turnout is expected to be high. Seoul's National Election Commission said as of midday, a total of 62.1 percent of eligible voters had cast their ballots, including early and overseas voters -- up from 61.3 percent at the same point in the previous election. Campaigning is not allowed on election day, but Lee posted on Facebook that the vote would "show the strength of the Korean people", after months of turmoil. "Polls show the election is largely viewed as a referendum on the previous administration," Kang Joo-hyun, a political science professor at Sookmyung Women's University, told AFP. "The martial law and impeachment crisis not only swayed moderates but also fractured the conservative base." Yoon's impeachment over his martial law bid, which saw armed soldiers deployed to parliament, made him the second straight conservative president to be stripped of office after Park Geun-hye in 2017. And conservative candidate Kim had failed to convince a third party candidate, Lee Jun-seok of the Reform Party, to unify and avoid splitting the right-wing vote. - 'Turning point' - Exit polls by South Korea's major broadcasters will be released around 8:00 pm -- immediately after polls close -- and are expected to give a fairly accurate picture of who won. In the 2022 presidential election, they predicted the outcome accurately down to the first decimal place. Seoul streets were peaceful as people made the most of good weather and a public holiday, but police issued the highest level of alert and deployed thousands of officers to ensure the election proceeded smoothly. Liberal candidate Lee -- who survived an assassination attempt last year -- has been campaigning in a bullet-proof vest and delivering speeches behind a glass protective shield. Ex-leader Yoon and his wife Kim Keon Hee cast their ballots at a polling station near their residence, but did not respond to questions from journalists. South Korean presidents serve a single five-year term. With a regular presidential election, there is a months-long transition period, and the new leader's term begins at midnight after the predecessor's final day. But in a snap election, the winner becomes president as soon as the National Election Commission ratifies the vote tally. Cab driver Choi Sung-wook, 68, said he was voting for Lee, partly due to his impoverished childhood, which he believed "will have a big influence on how he will serve the people". "I thought Yoon would do well, but he betrayed the people. I hope the next president will create an atmosphere of peace and unity rather than ideological warfare."
Al Jazeera
3 days ago
- General
- Al Jazeera
South Korea snap election live: Lee Jae-myung, Kim Moon-soo face off
It all boils down to one thing – Yoon Suk-yeol's botched martial law decree. The former president, who narrowly won the last presidential election in 2022, was supposed to serve for five years. But his declaration of martial law on December 3 – which brought armed soldiers onto Seoul's streets, evoking traumatic memories of past military rule – prompted the opposition-controlled National Assembly to impeach him that same month. The Constitutional Court upheld the decision on April 4 in a move that obliged the country's caretaker leaders to call a presidential election within 60 days. Yoon has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing. He has described his decree as a legitimate act of governance meant to raise public awareness of the danger of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, which obstructed his agenda and impeached top officials. The decree lasted only six hours as enough legislators, including from Yoon's party, managed to enter the parliament house and vote it down. It unleashed political chaos, however, including mass protests, a riot at a courthouse and three caretaker leaders in six months.
The Herald
08-05-2025
- Politics
- The Herald
Political murders that shocked the world
In the mid-1980s, SA — especially the Eastern Cape and what was then the Transvaal — was in absolute political chaos, and appalling atrocities were being committed as the country headed towards anarchy. It was the beginning of the end of a tragic and bloody chapter of a racially and deeply divided nation. The defiant former president of the apartheid government, PW Botha, had announced a partial state of emergency on July 20 1985 — and just before this, political activists in the Eastern Cape were targeted in the worst and most violent deadly crimes ever carried out by security police. These included the now infamous abduction and cold-blooded murder of struggle heroes like the Pebco Three and Cradock Four, among many others. These shocking killings would take place in the months preceding the state of emergency, which placed draconian restrictions on the media and which even led to The Herald editor at the time, Koos Viviers, appearing in the Grahamstown High Court on charges of having contravened these laws. Readers recall blank spaces on the front page of The Herald at the time, in a silent protest at not being able to report on certain unfolding political and anti-apartheid protest events happening on the ground. The partial state of emergency initially applied to 36 magisterial districts in the Eastern Cape and the Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereeniging area. However, with continued resistance throughout the country, the Act was eventually enforced nationally in 1986. On May 8 1985, three members of the Port Elizabeth Black Civic Organisation (Pebco) left their homes in Kwazakhele. They included president Qaqawuli Godolozi, secretary Champion Galela and executive committee member Sipho Hashe. The Pebco m embers were lured to the Port Elizabeth airport by security police on May 8 1985. They were then beaten to death on a remote farm at Post Chalmers near Cradock. Nothing was known of their fate until 1997 when former security police colonel Gideon Nieuwoudt confessed to involvement in their deaths. After years of uncertainty for their families, the remains of the Pebco Three and two Cosas activists were found at Post Chalmers in 2007. Seven weeks later on June 27, Sparrow Mkhonto, Fort Calata, Matthew Goniwe and Sicelo Mhlauli, were detained by the security police outside Port Elizabeth. Goniwe and Calata were rumoured to be on a secret police hit list for their active participation in the struggle against apartheid in the Cradock area. The South African security forces murdered them and then disposed of their bodies by burning. Today, four towers stand tall and proud on a hill overlooking the Lingelihle township. In 2019, government leaders officially launched the Cradock Garden of Remembrance after a multimillion-rand refurbishment of the memorial complex. At the time, Goniwe's widow, Nyameka, said the garden was long overdue. 'We as families even thought that it was not going to be done as the space was identified and left empty for years and ended up being vandalised.' She said the garden had been established for a purpose and it should be used to create culture, history and distribute knowledge to South Africans. 'This site should be guiding us as the Cradock Four g uided the country before they were brutally murdered. This must be the light that stands on top of the mountain and sheds light for everyone,' Goniwe said. — Additional reporting by Tembile Sgqolana and South African History Online The Herald
