Joint exit ballot exhibits liberal candidate Lee forecast to win South Korean presidential election

Liberal candidate Lee Jae-myung is forecast to win South Korea’s snap presidential election, a joint exit ballot on Tuesday (June 3, 2025) confirmed, two months after his arch-rival after which conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol was faraway from workplace over his short-lived imposition of martial regulation.

The exit ballot by South Korea’s three main TV stations — KBS, MBC and SBS — confirmed Lee projected to acquire 51.7% of the full votes forged, beating important conservative candidate Kim Moon Soo on 39.3%.

Pre-election surveys additionally advised Mr Lee, the Democratic Party candidate, appeared headed for a straightforward win, using on deep public frustration over the conservatives within the wake of Yoon’s martial regulation debacle. Mr Kim has struggled to win over reasonable, swing voters as his People Power Party stays in a quagmire of inside feuding over the way to view Mr Yoon’s actions.

As the exit ballot was introduced, Democratic Party members cheered and applauded in jubilant scenes at a celebration corridor, chanting Mr Lee’s title. At Mr Kim’s social gathering headquarters, lawmakers sat in silence.

Voting started at 6 a.m. native time at 14,295 polling stations nationwide and closed at 8 p.m. Nearly 80% of the nation’s 44.4 million eligible voter forged ballots, in line with an ongoing tally. That’s one of many highest turnouts for a presidential election in South Korea and mirrored public eagerness to maneuver previous the political turmoil.

The election serves as one other defining second within the nation’s resilient democracy however observers fear a home divide worsened after Yoon’s martial regulation stunt is way from over and will pose a giant political burden on the brand new president.

The previous six months noticed massive crowds of individuals rallying within the streets to both denounce or help Mr Yoon, whereas a management vacuum attributable to Yoon’s impeachment and ensuing formal dismissal rattled the nation’s high-level diplomatic actions and monetary markets.

The successful candidate will instantly be sworn in as president Wednesday (June 4, 2025) for a single, full time period of 5 years with out the everyday two-month transition interval.

The new president will face main challenges together with a slowing financial system, U.S. President Donald Trump’s America-first insurance policies and North Korea’s evolving nuclear threats.

In a Facebook posting earlier Tuesday (June 3, 2025), Mr Lee, whose Democratic Party led the legislative effort to oust Mr Yoon, referred to as for voters to “deliver a stern and resolute judgement” in opposition to the conservatives over martial regulation.

In one in every of his closing marketing campaign speeches Monday (June 2, 2025), Mr Lee argued {that a} win by Kim would imply the “the return of the rebellion forces, the destruction of democracy and the deprival of people’s human rights.” He additionally promised to revitalize the financial system, scale back inequality and ease nationwide divisions. He urged the individuals to vote for him.

Mr Kim, a former labour minister below Mr Yoon, warned {that a} Lee win would permit him to wield extreme energy, launch political retaliation in opposition to opponents and legislate legal guidelines to guard him from numerous authorized troubles, as his social gathering already controls parliament.

Mr Lee “is now trying to seize all power in South Korea and establish a Hitler-like dictatorship,” Mr Kim advised a rally within the southeastern metropolis of Busan.

Mr Lee, who served as governor of Gyeonggi province and mayor of Seongnam metropolis, has been a extremely divisive determine in South Korean politics for years.

As a former youngster labourer identified for his inspirational rags-to-riches story, Mr Lee got here to fame by way of biting criticism of the nation’s conservative institution and calls to construct a extra assertive South Korea in international coverage. That rhetoric has given him a picture as somebody who can institute sweeping reforms and repair the nation’s deep-seated financial inequality and corruption.

His critics view him as a harmful populist who depends on a political division and backpedals on guarantees too simply.

On international coverage, Mr Lee has not made any contentious remarks just lately and has steadfastly vowed to pursue pragmatic diplomacy. He has referred to as South Korea’s alliance with the U.S. the inspiration of its international coverage and promised to solidify a trilateral Seoul-Washington-Tokyo partnership, a stance that isn’t a lot totally different than the place held by South Korea’s conservatives.

Experts say there aren’t many diplomatic choices for South Korea because it tries to deal with Mr Trump’s tariff hikes and requires South Korea to pay extra for the price of the U.S. army presence, in addition to North Korea’s headlong pursuit of nuclear weapons. Experts say that has made each Lee and Kim keep away from unveiling formidable international coverage objectives.

Mr Lee’s authorities nonetheless might turn out to be engaged in “a little bit of friction” with the Trump administration, whereas Mr Kim’s authorities, which prioritise relations with Washington, will seemingly provide extra concessions to the U.S., stated Chung Jin-young, a former dean of the Graduate School of Pan-Pacific International Studies at South Korea’s Kyung Hee University.

Mr Chung predicted Mr Lee gained’t have the ability to pursue overly drastic steps on international coverage and safety, given the nation’s international trade and monetary markets are very weak to such adjustments.

Mr Lee has preached endurance over Mr Trump’s tariff coverage, arguing it might be a mistake to hurry negotiations in pursuit of an early settlement with Washington. Mr Kim has stated he would meet Mr Trump as quickly as doable.

On Monday (June 2, 2025), South Korean commerce officers held an emergency assembly to debate a response to Mr Trump’s announcement that the U.S. will elevate tariffs on metal and aluminium merchandise to 50% starting June 4. South Korea’s central financial institution final week sharply lowered its 2025 development outlook to 0.8%, citing the potential impression of Mr Trump’s tariff hikes and weak home demand worsened by the political turmoil of previous months.

Relations with North Korea stay badly strained since 2019, with the North targeted on increasing its nuclear arsenal whereas refusing dialogues with South Korea and the U.S.

Since his second time period started in January, Mr Trump has repeatedly expressed his intent to renew diplomacy with North Korean chief Kim Jong Un, however Mr Kim has up to now ignored the provide whereas making Russia his precedence in international coverage.

Mr Lee, who needs hotter ties with North Korea, just lately acknowledged it might be “very difficult” to grasp a summit with Kim Jong Un anytime quickly. Mr Lee stated he would help Mr Trump’s push to restart talks with Kim Jong Un, which he believed would ultimately permit South Korea to be concerned in some initiatives in North Korea.

Foreign coverage strategists for Mr Lee perceive there isn’t a lot South Korea can do to convey a few denuclearization of North Korea, stated Paik Wooyeal, a professor at Seoul’s Yonsei University.

He stated Mr Lee additionally doesn’t share the Korean nationalistic zeal held by ex-liberal President Moon Jae-in, who met Kim Jong Un thrice throughout his 2017-22 time period.