Seoul, South Korea: After six hours of emergency martial law, hundreds of days of protests, violence at a Seoul court, and President Yoon Suk-yeol’s eventual impeachment, the country is now hours away from appointing a new leader in an effort to restore stability to an unrest-stricken nation.
South Koreans will cast ballots for one of the five presidential candidates on Tuesday, between 6 am and 8 pm (21:00 to 11:00 GMT), in a race that is largely led by Lee Jae-myung, a member of the opposition Democratic Party. Kim Moon-soo, the People’s Party candidate, leads him in the polls.
Both of these two leading contenders are expected to take Yoon’s place in the 44.39 million eligible vote. The ex-president was last week a witness to his fifth court hearing where he is accused of launching an insurrection and abusing power because of his failure to impose martial law on December 3.
Yoon could receive the most severe punishment, including life in prison or even the death penalty, if found guilty.
In light of the political unrest brought on by the brief enactment of military rule, which still resonates in every aspect of society and has sharply divided the country along political lines, voter turnout is expected to be at an all-time high in the election. Those who continue to back Yoon and those who vehemently oppose his declaration of martial law.
Lee is currently the clear front-runner in the Democratic Party, with People Power Party Kim’s 36% and Lee’s 49 percent in Gallup Korea’s most recent poll on May 28 declaring him the favorite to win.
Voting started early on Friday, which ended with the second-highest turnout in the country’s history, at 34.74 percent, while overseas voting from 118 nations reached a record high of 79.5%.
Second chance for Lee Jae-myung
In the most recent presidential election in South Korea’s history, Yoon narrowly won with a 2-0 lead over Lee.
Lee now has a second chance at the top office and a chance to improve his political reputation following his humiliating defeat in 2022, which came with a narrow 0.73 percent of the vote.
In violation of election law, the Supreme Court of South Korea ruled about a month ago that Lee had spread false information during his presidential campaign for 2022.
Lee also survived a stabbing attack to his neck during a news conference in Busan last year, in addition to surviving a number of bribery allegations during his time as mayor of Seongnam and governor of Gyeonggi Province, which he claimed were politically motivated.
The courts have fortunately agreed to postpone any further hearings of Lee’s ongoing trials until after the election.
This time around, Lee addressed his supporters from behind bulletproof glass while counterterrorism units were patrolling on foot as snipers patrolled the crowds for potential threats.
Conservative lawmakers, his former adversaries, who have publicly supported his run for office numerous times in the last month, have also joined his campaign and seen him as a route back to political stability.
Kim’s parliamentary colleague, Kim Sang-wook, left the party in early May to join Lee’s Democratic Party, which was a particularly humiliating blow.
Only 55% of conservative voters who voted for Yoon in the 2022 election said they would support Kim this time around, according to polling data from Hankyoreh, the country’s top media outlet.
These shifts reflect the mainstream conservative party’s crisis, which is also evidenced by Lee’s appeal to both moderate and conservative voters.
Future president is “heavy burdened” with.
According to Lim Woon-taek, a sociology professor at Keimyung University and former member of the Presidential Commission on Policy Planning, “the events of the martial law, insurrection attempt, and impeachment process have dealt a severe blow to our democracy.”
According to Lim, “the new president will be saddled with a lot of baggage when taking office,” Lim said.
Youth unemployment, social inequality, and climate change are all pressing issues that Yoon’s administration failed to address.
Last year, non-regular employees in South Korea, including contract workers and part-timers, made up 38% of all wage and salary workers, according to recent research.
Lee has pledged to support business-friendly policies and to concentrate on investing in artificial intelligence and research while avoiding putting an emphasis on gender conflicts in social issues.
His political stance has significantly changed since he first promoted left-wing ideas like a universal basic income while moving up the political scale.
Events that occurred on the night of the December 3 declaration of martial law also contributed to Lee’s reputation as a leader of political freedom. Lee, a former human rights lawyer, was live-streamed circling the National Assembly compound to urge other legislators to vote and reject Yoon’s call to mobilize the military.
Lee’s most important campaign pledge was to tighten controls on a potential president’s ability to do the same and prosecute those who were tied to Yoon’s martial law scheme. Additionally, he wants to see a constitutional amendment that would change the current five-year term to two, which was previously only one-term.
Kim, Lee’s closest rival, has concurred with these policies and kept a distance from Yoon, but the former labor activist-turned-hardline conservative has also claimed that the former president’s impeachment was inappropriate.
Trump, tariffs, and the new course of South Korea
Trump’s proposal to impose tariffs on important South Korean exports like steel, semiconductors, and cars also affects the election.
In response to those threats, Kim and Lee both pledged to ease business regulations while Lee has promised to encourage growth and demand. Kim also emphasized that he intends to discuss the tariffs with Trump right away at a summit.
On the other hand, Lee has promised a more logical foreign policy plan that would promote both maintaining US relations with the administration and promoting “national interests” like boosting cooperation with neighbors China and Russia.
Kim has pledged to increase the country’s military might in order to combat Pyongyang, and Lee wants more security support from the US, while Lee is determined to ease tensions that have reached unprecedented levels in recent years.
Sejong City, the country’s new administrative capital, would be the location of the National Assembly and the presidential office, according to Lee, a move that has come under the guise of a series of setbacks in recent years.
The climate situation is another significant issue that Keimyung University’s Lim hopes the future leader will concentrate on more, according to Lim.
If we don’t take action right away, Lim warned that “our country is regarded as a climate villain” and that we will face future restrictions on our exports.
The fate of our nation will ultimately depend on which president will address these issues like the previous administration, or whether they will confront the media and jump right into the main problems that are afflicting our society.
The results of Tuesday’s vote are anticipated to be released either later on Tuesday or early on Wednesday morning.
Yoon was declared the winner of the 2022 election at 4:40 am the morning following the election.
The outcome might be known as early as Tuesday night because Lee is the clear winner in this election.
