Liberal Lee Jae-myung wins South Korea presidency in martial law ‘judgment day’

SEOUL – South Korea’s liberal party candidate, Mr Lee Jae-myung, was elected president in a June 3 snap election, six months to the day after he evaded military cordons to vote against a shock martial law decree imposed by his ousted predecessor.

Mr Lee’s victory stands to usher in a political sea change in Asia’s fourth-largest economy, after the backlash against

the martial law

brought down Yoon Suk Yeol, the conservative outsider who narrowly beat Mr Lee in the 2022 election.

Nearly 80 per cent of South Korea’s 44.39 million eligible voters cast their ballots, the highest turnout for a presidential election in the country since 1997, with Mr Lee terming the polls “judgment day” against Yoon’s martial law and the People Power Party’s (PPP) failure to distance itself from that decision.

With 100 per cent of the ballots counted, Mr Lee had won 49.42 per cent of the nearly 35 million votes cast while conservative rival Kim Moon-soo had taken 41.15 per cent in the polls, according to National Election Commission data.

A subdued Mr Kim conceded the race and congratulated Mr Lee in brief remarks to reporters.

Mr Lee had long been favoured to win, and his supporters erupted in cheers as exit polls by the country’s major broadcasters showed him defeating Mr Kim by wide margins.

In a brief speech to supporters gathered outside Parliament after the polls closed, Mr Lee said he would fulfil the duties of the office and bring unity to the country.

“We can overcome this temporary difficulty with the combined strength of our people, who have great capabilities,” he said.

He also vowed to revive the economy and seek peace with nuclear-armed North Korea through dialogue and strength.

The martial law decree and the six months of ensuing turmoil, which saw three different acting presidents and multiple criminal insurrection trials for Yoon and several top officials, marked a stunning political self-destruction for the former leader and effectively handed the presidency to his main rival.

Yoon was impeached by the Lee-led Parliament, then removed from office by the Constitutional Court in April, less than three years into his five-year term, triggering the snap election that now stands to remake the country’s political leadership and foreign policies of a key US ally.

Mr Lee has accused the PPP of having condoned the martial law attempt by not fighting harder to thwart it and even trying to save Yoon’s presidency.

Mr Kim was Yoon’s labour minister when the former president declared martial law on Dec 3.

“I was here on Dec 3 after martial was declared and Dec 14 when Yoon was impeached,” said science teacher Choi Mi-jeong, 55, who stood outside Parliament to hear Mr Lee speak.

“Now Lee Jae-myung is becoming president. I hope he will become a leader who supports ordinary people, not vested interests.”

US State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told a briefing that Washington was awaiting final certification before commenting.

Official results were expected to be certified by the National Election Commission on the morning of June 4, after ballots were sorted and counted by machine, and then triple-checked by election officials by hand to verify accuracy.

Just hours later, the inauguration ceremony is planned.

Need for change

Mr Park Chan-dae, acting leader of Mr Lee’s Democratic Party, told public broadcaster  KBS that the projections suggest voters rejected the martial law attempt and are hoping for an improvement in their livelihoods.

“I think people made a fiery judgment against the insurrection regime,” he said.

The winner must tackle challenges including a society deeply scarred by divisions made more obvious since the attempt at military rule, and an export-heavy economy reeling from unpredictable protectionist moves by the US, a major trading partner and a security ally.

Both Mr Lee and Mr Kim pledged change for the country, saying a political system and economic model set up during its rise as a budding democracy and industrial power are no longer fit for purpose.

Their proposals for investment in innovation and technology often overlapped, but Mr Lee advocated more equity and help for mid- to low-income families while Mr Kim campaigned on giving businesses more freedom from regulations and labour strife.

Mr Lee is expected to be more conciliatory towards China and North Korea but has pledged to continue the Yoon-era engagement with Japan.

Mr Kim branded Mr Lee a “dictator” and his Democratic Party a “monster,” warning if the former human rights lawyer becomes president, nothing will stop them from working together to amend laws simply because they do not like them.

‘Polarised’

“The economy has got so much worse since Dec 3, not just for me, I hear that from everybody,” voter Kim Kwang-ma, 81, said. “And we, as a people, have become so polarised... I wish we could come together so that Korea can develop again.”

There were no female candidates running in the June 3 election for the first time in 18 years.

Despite polls showing wide gaps between young men and women, gender equality was not among the key policy issues put forward during this election, a stark contrast from the 2022 vote.

“One thing I am a bit frustrated about with mainstream candidates, whether Lee Jae-myung or other conservative candidates, is they lack policy on women and minority groups,” said Ms Kwon Seo-hyun, 18, an undergraduate and first-time voter who went out to the streets for anti-Yoon protests following his martial law. REUTERS