South Korea: Lee Jae-Myung wins presidential nomination

Lee Jae-myung, the liberal South Korean politician favoured to become the country’s next leader, has overcome a knife attack, martial law, and criminal charges on his unexpected path back toward the presidency. Named the Democratic Party’s candidate on Sunday, Lee leads potential conservative opponents by double digits in most polls ahead of the June 3 snap election called after Yoon Suk Yeol was removed from office over his brief attempt at martial law in December.
Lee’s unlikely journey fromknown for his COVID-19 response reached the top level when he narrowly lost the presidency to Yoon, who later accused Lee of obstruction in justifying the martial law decree that led to Yoon’s ouster. If elected, Lee, 61, called a “gladiator in a suit” by one adviser, would face the task of soothing polarised politics and addressing rising economic concerns while negotiating with U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration on everything from tariffs to the cost of hosting American troops in the country.
On foreign policy, Lee is seen as likely to be less hawkish than Yoon on North Korea, potentially aligning him with any efforts by Trump to reach out to the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un. Legal accusations, although rejected by some courts, could threaten Lee’s eligibility for president. Yet he is poised to win after leading the effort to impeach Yoon in a rollercoaster political crisis. During Yoon’s six hours of martial law on December 3, Lee climbed the National Assembly’s walls to avoid security cordons deployed on Yoon’s orders. He livestreamed his exploit, urging viewers to come to parliament and demonstrate to prevent the arrest of lawmakers.
Shortly after, he told Reuters the crisis was like a “virus” that had infiltrated the South Korean system, and that he was dedicated to eradicating it. “We have to focus on removing the virus,” he said. “With proper, rapid treatment, we will recover, and through the process, our nation and democracy will become even stronger.”

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