Liberal Opposition Leader Projected To Win South Korean Presidential Election

Liberal opposition leader Lee Jae-myung is projected to win South Korea’s presidential election, according to projections by broadcasters in the country on Tuesday. 

In a joint exit poll by KBS, MBC and SBS, Lee is at 51% of the vote, while his conservative rival Kim Moon-soo has just 39.3%. Another broadcaster, JTBC, puts Lee at 50.6%, while Channel A has him winning as well by a similar margin. 

Approximately 78% of South Korean voters participated in the snap ballot, which was called following the outster of former president Yoon Suk Yeol – who attempted to institute martial law on Dec. 3, 2024, only to back down six hours later amid parliamentary opposition and public protests. He is now on trial for insurrection. 

As the Epoch Times notes further, Yoon’s attempted martial law plunged Asia’s fourth-largest economy into months of political turmoil and led to the Constitutional Court eventually relieving him of the presidency in April.

Yoon denies the charges.

The chairman of Lee’s Democratic Party, Park Chan-dae, told broadcaster KBS the people had “passed a judgment like a scolding on the civil war regime,” after the exit polls were revealed.

During his campaign, Lee said he would amend the constitution to make it harder for future presidents to impose martial law, as well as vowing to take steps to tackle the country’s economic issues.

He also called for a special prosecutor to be appointed to investigate the Dec. 3, 2024, martial law incident to bring those responsible to justice; however, he said military officials who were reluctant to follow orders should be granted leniency.

Some 44.3 million South Koreans are eligible to vote in the election.

The election is run on a single-round, first-past-the-post system, with the winner simply being the candidate who gains the most votes.

Whoever is successful can hold the post for a five-year term and is not permitted to stand for reelection.

In South Korea, the president is head of state, head of government, and commander in chief of the nation’s armed forces.

Due to the removal of Yoon, the victor will be immediately sworn in on Wednesday, rather than going through the typical two-month transition period.