South Korea's Lee Jae-myung emerges as victor after snap election

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Jun 03, 2025 8:32 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

South Korea woke connected Wednesday to a caller wide president, Lee Jae-myung, who vowed to rise the state from the turmoil of a martial instrumentality situation and revive an system reeling from slowing maturation and the menace of planetary protectionism.

Lee's decisive triumph successful Tuesday's drawback predetermination stands to usher successful a oversea alteration successful Asia's fourth-largest economy, aft backlash against a botched effort astatine subject regularisation brought down Yoon Suk Yeol conscionable 3 years into his troubled presidency.

With 100 per cent of the ballots counted, Lee had won 49.42 per cent of the astir 35 cardinal votes formed portion blimpish rival Kim Moon-soo had taken 41.15 per cent in the polls that brought the highest turnout for a statesmanlike predetermination since 1997, according to National Election Commission data.

The 61-year-old erstwhile quality rights lawyer called Tuesday's predetermination "judgment day" against Yoon's martial instrumentality and his People Power Party's nonaccomplishment to halt the ill-fated move.

"The archetypal ngo is to decisively flooded insurrection and to guarantee determination volition ne'er beryllium different subject coup with guns and swords turned against the people," Lee said successful a triumph code extracurricular parliament.

"We tin flooded this impermanent trouble with the combined spot of our people, who person large capabilities," helium said.

Lee was officially confirmed arsenic president by the National Election Commission aboriginal connected Wednesday and instantly assumed the powers of the presidency and commander-in-chief.

An abbreviated inauguration is planned astatine parliament wrong hours of the authoritative confirmation.

A slate of economical and societal challenges await the caller leader, including a nine profoundly scarred by divisions pursuing the martial instrumentality effort and an export-heavy system reeling from unpredictable protectionist moves by the United States, a large trading spouse and a information ally.

The martial instrumentality decree and the six months of ensuing turmoil, which saw 3 antithetic acting presidents and aggregate transgression insurrection trials for Yoon and respective apical officials, marked a stunning governmental self-destruction for the erstwhile person and a resistance connected an system already slowing successful growth.

Lee has pledged to boost concern successful innovation and exertion to substance the state connected different maturation trajectory portion expanding enactment for mediate and low-income families.

Lee is expected to beryllium much conciliatory toward China and North Korea, and has pledged to proceed the Yoon-era engagement with Japan.

His apical situation volition beryllium "walking a tightrope betwixt the U.S. and China," according to writer Jen Moon, though, she said, the caller president has promised to rebuild ties with Beijing, without alienating Washington.

"Mr. Lee has been favourable to China, moreso than his blimpish counterpart, truthful we'll person to hold and spot however China reacts to this," Moon told Germany's Deutsche Welle.

Relations are expected to tighten betwixt Beijing and Seoul, according to experts, Moon said.