South Korea elects Lee Jae-myung as new president six months after the self-coup
Lee Jae-myung faced Kim Moon-soo in a snap presidential vote amid South Korea’s political crisis.
South Korea is facing a new political chapter as they chose their new president. This election was triggered after a brief episode of martial law, imposed by former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached not long after.
However, it seems like South Koreans have already decided who will be their new president after all. According to exit polls, the Democratic candidate Lee Jae-myung was way ahead of his closest rival, Kim Moon-soo, with 49.2% of the vote; compared to Kim's 41.7%.
Who is Lee Jae-myung?
Lee Jae-myung grew up as a poor kid, working in factories as a child and, despite his reputation as a radical reformer; he has not showed this side in recent speeches. He is seem to want to take on of South Korea's conservative establishment.
Lee was also the main figure leading the opposition campaign which took the former president out of the power. Facing criminal charges for bribery and supposedly being involved in a property development scandal, the court allowed him to participate in the presidential race.
While he claims the charges are motivated by a criminal persecution; he wants to mirror the policies established by his conservative predecessor, excepting their approach to North Korea.
Lee’s campaign promises and challenges ahead
During his final speech of the campaign on Monday, Lee made significant promises to South Koreans. Among them, they were:
- Revitalize the economy
- Reduce inequality
- Ease national divisions
At the same time, he warned that a victory of his rival, would lead to the former presidents "rebellion forces" to return. However, Kim warned that Lee would abuse his power to retaliate against his opponents "and establish a Hitler-like dictatorship”
