Latest news with #politicaldivision
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
As South Korea heads to the polls, can Lee Jae-myung bring the country back from the brink?
The snipers positioned on Seoul rooftops scan the crowd through telescopic sights while counter-terrorism units patrol the perimeter with bomb-detection dogs. Bodyguards clutching ballistic briefcases form a protective ring. On stage, Lee Jae-myung addresses thousands of supporters from behind bulletproof glass, protection that has become necessary after death threats and a stabbing attack against him last year. Yet at times the scene is closer to a celebration than a campaign rally shadowed by violence, as supporters break into spontaneous dance routines between speeches, while waving balloons and chanting. The striking contrast reflects how deeply South Korea has fractured, but also the determination to heal those divisions, as the nation prepares for a presidential election on 3 June, exactly six months after former president Yoon Suk Yeol attempted to impose martial law, plunging the nation into its gravest constitutional crisis in decades. Lee, the Democratic party frontrunner whose continuous vilification by conservatives once made him unpalatable to moderate voters, is now gaining support from members of that same group who see him as the path back to political normalcy. 'Through the insurrection, the People Power party (PPP) betrayed the state and the people,' says Kim Sang-wook, a conservative MP who dramatically defected from Yoon's conservative party to join Lee's Democrats in May. His transformation from party loyalist to opponent reflects a broader pattern of conservative defections that has left the ruling PPP institutionally weakened. This conservative migration reflects what observers describe as an institutional crisis rather than mere electoral opportunism. According to Hankyoreh polling data, only 55% of Yoon's 2022 voters now support conservative candidate Kim Moon-soo, with nearly half having defected or remaining undecided. 'The People Power Party must disappear quickly,' says Jeong Kyu-jae, a prominent conservative commentator. 'Only when it collapses quickly can proper conservatism stand.' The PPP's current crisis stems in part from its steadfast defence of Yoon throughout the martial law episode and opposition to his impeachment. Despite belated apologies and forcing Yoon to 'voluntarily' leave the party, it cannot escape his shadow: Yoon endorsed Kim Moon-soo, highlighting the toxic association that makes credible renewal nearly impossible. Choi Sang-hwa, a former official under Park Geun-hye, the conservative president impeached for corruption in 2017, also joined the Democratic party this month, alongside multiple Park Geun-hye supporter groups and conservative organisations that have publicly backed Lee. Lee has capitalised on this conservative political homelessness through a strategic pivot, declaring that the Democratic party is 'originally centre-right, not progressive' while courting what his campaign calls 'rational conservatives' and branding the People Power party as a 'far-right criminal organisation.' His appeal to conservatives centres on economic pragmatism rather than ideology: promises of business-friendly policies, inheritance tax reforms, and massive AI investment while carefully avoiding divisive social issues that might alienate traditional voters. For many, he simply represents the clearest rejection of martial law and Yoon's legacy. Domestic economic stagnation and shifting international dynamics have created an urgency around productivity and growth over redistribution, says Jeong Kyu-jae. 'So riding on that wind, Lee naturally moves rightward.' The Democratic Party's signature blue on campaign posters and Lee's jacket, necktie and footwear now combines with hints of conservative red, a deliberate metaphor for his courtship of disaffected conservatives. The strategy appears to be working. In their final opinion poll before a pre-election blackout period, Gallup Korea showed Lee maintaining a commanding 49% to Kim's 35%, with Lee Jun-seok, leader of the smaller conservative New Reform party, at 11%. Realmeter's final poll echoed this trend, with Lee at 49.2% and Kim at 36.8%. This realignment may also prove easier in South Korea, where political divisions often centre more on opinions on North Korea, regional loyalties and leadership personalities than on western-style ideological orthodoxies. Yet Lee's path to the presidency remains shadowed by legal uncertainties. He faces multiple criminal trials, including charges of bribery and alleged involvement in a property development scandal, with South Korea's supreme court recently ordering a retrial of an election violation case after overturning his acquittal, with instructions for conviction. Courts have agreed to postpone further hearings of ongoing trials until after the election, allowing him to contest the presidency while the cases remain unresolved. Lee denies all charges, describing them as politically motivated persecution. Should he win though, legal questions remain over whether presidential immunity would halt his ongoing prosecutions, as opposed to simply preventing new charges, potentially setting up another constitutional crisis. Kim Moon-soo, meanwhile, has been trying to distance himself from well-documented ties to far-right elements, including his co-founding of a political party with the notorious pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon, an extremist preacher known for inflammatory rhetoric and who has defended Yoon's martial law. Kim's own past statements, including his claim that 'homosexuality is much more harmful than smoking cigarettes', illustrate the challenge facing conservatives trying to broaden their appeal beyond their traditional base. 'Lee Jae-myung is someone who can integrate both conservative and progressive functions with an open mind,' says Kim Sang-wook. The candidate's trajectory from an impoverished child factory worker to governor of Gyeonggi, South Korea's most populous province, resonates with voters who prioritise stability over ideological purity, particularly as economic hardships mount, he says. For Sangchin Chun, a professor of sociology at Sogang University, this election represents 'the confrontation between those who support democracy and those who deny it.' Whether Lee's pivot proves enduring or merely reflects crisis-driven pragmatism remains uncertain. But as South Koreans head to the polls still scarred by their encounter with authoritarianism, his message offers a hopefully different path. 'The extreme form of seeing opponents as enemies was the martial law declaration to 'sweep away' the opposition,' Lee told the Guardian on the sidelines of Tuesday's final televised debate. 'But whether someone supports me, opposes me, or is indifferent, I will respect them equally as citizens of the Republic of Korea.'
Daily Mail
16-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
MAGA ally intensifies rhetoric on 'Trump derangement syndrome'
For years MAGA haters have been erupting in fits of rage when responding to statements made by the president. Now, his allies in Congress want studies done to see if his left-wing opponents are actually suffering from a condition they have dubbed 'Trump Derangement Syndrome.' Symptoms of so-called TDS are said to include an intense, often irrational hostility or obsession with Donald Trump, his actions, or his supporters. The term is often used pejoratively by Trump fans to dismiss those making criticisms of the president. It lacks a formal psychological or medical basis but is based on the extreme political animus toward the 45th and 47th president. Trump has been called an enemy of democracy, a fascist and a dictator akin to Hitler by his political opponents, including from some within his own party. He has been so heavily demonized that his actions - maybe even his mere existence - has sparked nationwide protests, effigy burnings and two assassination attempts. So to finally get to the bottom of what is fueling the outrage, Rep. Warren Davidson (pictured), R-Ohio, introduced the Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) Research Act of 2025 on Thursday to study the phenomenon. 'TDS has divided families, the country, and led to nationwide violence—including two assassination attempts on President Trump,' Davidson told the Daily Mail in a statement. His proposal seeks to leverage the National Institute of Health's existing programs to study the purported disorder. And it shouldn't cost taxpayers a dime. 'The TDS Research Act would require the NIH to study this toxic state of mind, so we can understand the root cause and identify solutions,' said Davidson. The bill would provide funds to study TDS symptoms , its origins, long-term effects and intervention methods, according to bill text reviewed by the Daily Mail. It defines TDS as 'intense, irrational emotional or cognitive reactions to President Donald J. Trump, his actions, or his public presence.' To avoid spending money on the program the bill will reallocate NIH resources inside the Institute of Mental Health. Compared to some of the projects that NIH has funded in the past, the TDS research is actually 'relevant' to everyday Americans, the congressman argues. 'Instead of funding ludicrous studies such as giving methamphetamine to cats or teaching monkeys to gamble for their drinking water, the NIH should use that funding to research issues that are relevant to the real world,' Davidson's statement continued. According to the Ohio Republican's office, the bill would direct the NIH to study the psychological and social roots of TDS. It would also direct the health agency to examine whether the media's coverage of Trump was a contributing factor to the spread of TDS. 'Notable early instances of TDS include certain media coverage amplifying polarized responses to Donald J. Trump's campaign rhetoric, which some observers cite as initial signs of TDS, though precise origins remain understudied,' the bill states. Finding 'patient zero' of TDS is also a priority, according to the proposed legislation. Stipulations include that the NIH should provide a report to Congress with data and its findings within two years of enacting the measure. The act is co-sponsored by Alabama Republican Rep. Barry Moore. It is unclear if there is the appetite for such a bill to be taken up by the House. House Republicans under Speaker Mike Johnson are rushing to cobble together a massive multi-trillion dollar 'big, beautiful bill' to pass Trump's agenda. They have a self-imposed deadline to finish their work before Memorial Day weekend next week. And as they work to enact tax cuts, the quest to find the origins of TDS will likely stay on the sidelines. In March, a group of GOP senators in Minnesota similarly filed a bill that would classify TDS as an official disorder . Their proposal explains that TDS manifests as 'verbal expressions of intense hostility' toward Donald Trump and 'overt acts of aggression and violence' against any person or thing that expresses support for the president.
