South Koreans vote for new president in wake of Yoon's ouster over martial law

SEOUL, South Korea -- Millions of South Koreans are voting Tuesday for a caller president successful a drawback election triggered by the ouster of Yoon Suk Yeol, a blimpish who present faces an explosive trial connected rebellion charges implicit his short-lived imposition of martial law successful December.

Pre-election surveys suggested Yoon’s wide archrival, Lee Jae-myung, appeared headed for an casual win, riding connected heavy nationalist vexation implicit the conservatives successful the aftermath of Yoon’s martial instrumentality debacle.

The main blimpish candidate, Kim Moon Soo, has struggled to triumph implicit moderate, plaything voters arsenic his People Power Party remains successful a quagmire of interior feuding implicit however to presumption Yoon’s actions.

This predetermination serves arsenic different defining infinitesimal successful the country’s resilient democracy, but observers interest a home disagreement worsened by Yoon is acold from implicit and could airs a large governmental load connected the caller president.

The past six months saw ample crowds of radical rallying successful the streets to either denounce oregon enactment Yoon, portion a enactment vacuum caused by Yoon’s impeachment and ensuing formal dismissal rattled the country’s high-level diplomatic activities and fiscal markets.

The winning campaigner volition instantly beryllium sworn successful arsenic president Wednesday for a single, afloat word of 5 years without the emblematic two-month modulation period. The caller president volition look large challenges including a slowing economy, President Donald Trump’s America-first policies and North Korea’s evolving nuclear threats.

The predetermination committee says voting began astatine 6 a.m. astatine 14,295 polling stations nationwide that volition adjacent astatine 8 p.m. Observers accidental the victor could look arsenic aboriginal arsenic midnight.

Lee, whose Democratic Party led the legislative effort to oust Yoon, has emerged arsenic the wide frontrunner successful sentiment surveys released successful caller weeks.

More than 15 cardinal radical already person formed ballots during a two-day aboriginal voting play past week, accounting for astir 35% of the country’s 44.4 cardinal eligible voters.

In his last run speeches Monday, Lee promised to revitalize the economy, trim inequality and easiness nationalist divisions. He urged the radical to ballot for him, arguing that a triumph by Kim would let Yoon’s “rebellion forces” to return.

“If they someway win, that would mean the instrumentality of the rebellion forces, the demolition of democracy, the deprival of people’s quality rights, the normalization of martial instrumentality and our country’s downfall into a backward, third-world nation,” Lee told the assemblage gathered astatine a Seoul park.

Kim, a erstwhile labour curate nether Yoon, warned that a Lee triumph would let him to wield excessive power, motorboat governmental retaliation against opponents and legislate laws to support him from assorted ineligible troubles, arsenic his enactment already controls parliament.

Lee “is present trying to prehend each powerfulness successful South Korea and found a Hitler-like dictatorship,” Kim told a rally successful the southeastern metropolis of Busan.

Lee, who led the opposition-led run to oust Yoon, has been a highly divisive fig successful South Korean authorities for years.

As a erstwhile kid laborer known for his inspirational rags-to-riches story, Lee came to fame done biting disapproval of the country’s blimpish constitution and calls to physique a much assertive South Korea successful overseas policy. That rhetoric has fixed him an representation arsenic idiosyncratic who tin institute sweeping reforms and hole the country’s deep-seated economical inequality and corruption.

His critics presumption him arsenic a unsafe populist who relies connected a governmental part and backpedals connected promises excessively easily.

On overseas policy, Lee has not made immoderate contentious remarks precocious and has steadfastly vowed to prosecute pragmatic diplomacy. He has called South Korea’s confederation with the U.S. the instauration of its overseas argumentation and promised to solidify a trilateral Seoul-Washington-Tokyo partnership, a stance that is not overmuch antithetic than the presumption held by South Korea’s conservatives.

Experts accidental determination aren’t galore diplomatic options for South Korea arsenic it tries to code Trump’s tariff hikes and calls for South Korea to wage much for the cost of the U.S. subject presence, arsenic good arsenic North Korea’s headlong pursuit of atomic weapons. Experts accidental that has made some Lee and Kim debar unveiling ambitious overseas argumentation goals.

Lee’s authorities inactive could go engaged successful “a small spot of friction” with the Trump administration, portion Kim’s government, which prioritize relations with Washington, volition apt connection much concessions to the U.S., said Chung Jin-young, a erstwhile dean of the Graduate School of Pan-Pacific International Studies astatine South Korea’s Kyung Hee University.

Chung predicted Lee won’t beryllium capable to prosecute overly drastic steps connected overseas argumentation and security, fixed the country’s overseas speech and fiscal markets are precise susceptible to specified changes.

Lee has preached patience implicit Trump’s tariff policy, arguing it would beryllium a mistake to unreserved negotiations successful pursuit of an aboriginal statement with Washington. Kim has said helium would conscionable Trump arsenic soon arsenic possible.

On Monday, South Korean commercialized officials held an exigency gathering to sermon a effect to Trump’s announcement that the U.S. volition rise tariffs connected steel and aluminum products to 50% opening June 4.

South Korea’s cardinal slope past week sharply lowered its 2025 maturation outlook to 0.8%, citing the imaginable interaction of Trump’s tariff hikes and anemic home request worsened by the governmental turmoil of past months.

Relations with North Korea stay severely strained since 2019, with the North focused connected expanding its atomic arsenal portion refusing dialogues with South Korea and the U.S.

Since his 2nd word began successful January, Trump has repeatedly expressed his intent to resume diplomacy with North Korean person Kim Jong Un, but Kim has truthful acold ignored the connection portion making Russia his precedence successful overseas policy.

Lee, who wants warmer ties with North Korea, precocious acknowledged it would beryllium “very difficult” to recognize a acme with Kim Jong Un anytime soon. Lee said helium would enactment Trump’s propulsion to restart talks with Kim Jong Un, which helium believed would yet let South Korea to beryllium progressive successful immoderate projects successful North Korea.

Foreign argumentation strategists for Lee recognize determination isn’t overmuch South Korea tin bash to bring astir a denuclearization of North Korea, said Paik Wooyeal, a prof astatine Seoul’s Yonsei University.

He said Lee besides doesn’t stock the Korean nationalistic zeal held by ex-liberal President Moon Jae-in, who met Kim Jong Un 3 times during his 2017-22 term.