The leader of the liberal opposition Lee Jae-myung was elected President of South Korea, reported several South Korean media on Wednesday 4 June. On Wednesday at 3 o’clock in the morning, with more than 97% of the votes, Lee secured 49% of the votes, while its main conservative rival Kim Moon-Soo lagged 41.6%-Maria more than 2.5 million votes, making comeback mathematically impossible.
“I humbly accept people’s choice,” Kim told reporters, admitting the defeat before the final sum. “I congratulate the president elected Lee and wish him success.”
Lee’s victory brings the final months of political shock triggered by the short -term combat law stored by the expelled conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol.
An earlier survey of departure from South Korea’s highest broadcast operators – KBS, MBC and SBS – assumed that Lee would win 51.7% of the vote, far before 39.3% Kim. Pre -election surveys also indicated the probable victory for Lee, driven by a widespread public anger towards the conservatives after the controversial imposition of Yooon.
Rise from poverty to power
Lee, a former child worker, has risen to political importance as the mayor of Seongnam and later as Gyeonggi Governor. His campaign earned voters anger against conservative foundation and economic inequality.
Lee’s rise was known for his sharp criticism of the political elite, and was based on the promises of social reform.
Balance an act for foreign policy
While Lee had been criticizing China and North Korea before, in recent months he has been working to confirm the Alliance of South Korea with the US and supported the three -sided relationship with the US and Japan.
Our alliance with the United States will remain the cornerstone of South Korea’s foreign policy, Lee said during his campaign.
He captivated careful access to North Korea and said he was open dialogue, but skeptical about any short -term summit with Kim Jong Un. “It will be very difficult,” Lee admitted, “but we must remain open to peaceful engagement.”
At the tension of Lee, he advised patience and claimed that it would be a mistake to rush negotiations on an early agreement with Washington. Kim Moon Soo said he would meet Trump as soon as possible.
Calls forward: Trump, North Korea and Home Division
Lee faces a hard diplomatic landscape, while the American tariff pressure under Donald Trump and the North Korean advancing nuclear arsenal represents immediate challenges.
On the domestic market Lee inherits a politically polarized country. His critics call him a populist who can deepen the division. Kim Moon Soo warned in her concession that Lee’s victory could lead to an “excessive energy concentration”.
In the Facebook post earlier on Tuesday, Lee urged voters to “issue a strict and soluble judgment” against the conservatives for storing martial law. During Monday’s speech in the campaign, he warned that the victory for Kim Moon-Soo signals “the return of the strength of rebellion, the destruction of democracy and the degradation of human rights”.
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