Six months after South Korea’s conservative leader shocked the nation by declaring martial law, voters turned out in record numbers to elect his replacement.
The left-leaning opposition party candidate Lee Jae-myung was immediately sworn in as president on Wednesday, after winning 49% of the June 3 vote and defeating the People Power Party (PPP) candidate Kim Moon-soo, who won 41%. Voter turnout was nearly 80%, the highest in 28 years.
Mr. Lee’s victory fills a leadership void that has hobbled Asia’s fourth-largest economy. It comes at a time when South Korea is grappling with high tariffs from Washington and an abrupt downturn in economic growth, caused in part by the political unrest. In his victory speech early Wednesday, Mr. Lee pledged to “restore democracy” to South Korea.
Why We Wrote This
A story focused on
Opposition candidate Lee Jae-myung has won South Korea’s tighter-than-expected presidential election, and aims to restore stability to a nation wracked by months of political upheaval. But issues of trust remain.
“My first mission,” he told thousands of supporters gathered near the National Assembly in Yeouido, “is to end the insurrection and prevent any further military coups.”
The martial law debacle undercut South Koreans’ faith in former president Yoon Suk Yeol and the PPP, helping propel Mr. Lee, of the center-left Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), into office. But while voicing relief over a return to relative normalcy, some voters as well as analysts worry that South Korea’s democracy remains vulnerable to political polarization and needs institutional reform. Some expressed fears about the concentration of political power, with Mr. Lee’s party now holding the presidency and a supermajority in the National Assembly, South Korea’s parliament.
Ann Scott Tyson/The Christian Science Monitor
Koo Min Gyo, a professor at Seoul National University’s Graduate School of Public Administration, expects Mr. Lee to use his party’s sway over the different branches of government to extend his power, while diminishing and stifling his critics.
“That is going to be a nightmare,” he says. “Without a healthy check and balance system, we cannot expect a healthy democracy.”
It’s true that revenge is a feature of South Korean politics, says Myunghee Lee, assistant professor at the James Madison College of Michigan State University.
“There is a vicious cycle” of retaliation by incoming administrations, says Dr. Lee, who is in South Korea doing field research. But she says Mr. Lee has stated he would not pursue his opponents.
“I hope he keeps his word,” she says.
Ann Scott Tyson/The Christian Science Monitor
Lee’s “character flaws”
While his victory heralds a liberal shift in South Korea’s domestic agenda, “Lee Jae-myung is not ideological,” says Mr. Koo. “He is very pragmatic and practical, but he is very hungry for power.”
Indeed, questions about Mr. Lee’s character are one reason Mr. Kim, a last-minute PPP candidate, was able to close a double-digit polling gap with Mr. Lee, long the front-runner in the presidential race.
While some voters praised Mr. Lee as an experienced leader and embraced his progressive agenda, even his supporters raised concerns about the multiple criminal proceedings he faces on charges of corruption, misuse of public funds, and election law violations.
“Right now we need a strong leader, even though he has character flaws,” says Kyung Sook Choi, serving pork- and kimchee-stuffed dumplings at her family restaurant at Seoul’s Mangwon Market.
Ann Scott Tyson/The Christian Science Monitor
In contrast, many voters said they trusted the integrity of Mr. Kim, a former labor activist-turned-conservative union critic, who served as labor minister under Mr. Yoon.
“Kim didn’t take any bribes. … He’s clean,” says Park Jeong-pil, owner of a security business in the southern coastal city of Busan.
“He was always on the side of the weak people, the common people,” he adds, walking on Busan’s Haeundae Beach.
Restoring faith in South Korea’s economy
A major common concern of South Korean voters is the nation’s slowing economy, which is projected to grow only 1% this year, according to a new forecast this week by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The OECD has twice downgraded its projection for South Korea this year, citing fallout from the political unrest and global trade tensions.
“All the small-business owners in South Korea are suffering now, but they [those in government] aren’t doing anything about it,” says Michael Park, a self-employed taxi driver, whose disillusionment with politicians led him to sit out the election.
“The rich class is getting richer,” says Mr. Park, adding that half his income goes to pay for tutoring and tae kwon do classes for his two school-age sons.
Ann Scott Tyson/The Christian Science Monitor
Kim Suneui, a painter living in a quiet backstreet of Seoul’s Yeongdeungpo District, says her biggest concern is that three of her four children can’t find permanent work, and live at home. “Young people can’t get jobs these days,” she says.
But the voters differed on how to remedy South Korea’s economic ills. Some favored Mr. Lee’s populist, pro-labor, and welfare policies, but many opposed his plans to raise taxes on business and redistribute income. “That will ruin the Korean economy,” says Yoon Jiyoung, who owns a small online clothing business.
Despite such disagreements – a reflection of the country’s deep polarization – many South Koreans are simply thankful to put the instability of the martial law episode behind them.
The past six months prove that “Korean democracy is resilient,” says Mr. Park, the security business owner. “Going forward it will be much smoother.”
Kyong Chong contributed to this story from Busan, South Korea.
