A Fresh Start: South Korea Elects New President Following Political Crisis
After a six-month period under temporary martial rule, South Korea holds a presidential election. - After a short-lived martial law period, South Korea chooses a fresh president.
In the aftermath of a temporary martial law declaration and subsequent impeachment, South Korea held a snap presidential election to restore stability. Although the conservative president Yoon had enacted the martial law in early 2024 amidst a budget dispute, he was removed from office by the Constitutional Court in 2025, and an interim president took charge.
According to polls, the centrist Democratic Party candidate, Lee Jae-Myung, was leading the race. In a Gallup Institute survey prior to the election, Lee was at 49 percent, with Kim Moon Soo, a candidate from Yoon's former party, lagging behind at 35 percent.
Over 44 million voters were called to the polls in the East Asian country, and as of midday, the National Election Commission reported a turnout of 62.1 percent, slightly higher than at the same time in the previous presidential election in 2022. Nearly a third of eligible voters had already participated in early voting last week.
A 68-year-old taxi driver named Choi Sun Wook expressed his support for the opposition leader Lee, stating, "Yoon betrayed the people." Choi told the AFP news agency that he hoped the next president would create an environment of peace and unity. Meanwhile, the 64-year-old voter Park Yeon Ok supported the conservative candidate Kim, believing him to be better equipped to heal the country's divisions.
Kim, the 73-year-old former labor leader and initial supporter of martial law, eventually expressed "sincere regret" towards those affected by the declaration. In contrast, Lee, the 61-year-old opposition leader, distinguishing himself during the martial law crisis by defending democracy in the parliament, which he streamed online.
After the temporary martial law, widespread protests for and against Yoon took place, culminating in a violent pro-Yoon rally in January 2024. This election, taking place under heavy security, saw thousands of police officers deployed in Seoul to ensure a smooth process. Lee had survived an assassination attempt the previous year and wore a bulletproof vest and delivered speeches behind glass shields during the campaign.
The South Korean president serves a five-year term and can only hold the office for one term. Apart from bridging political divisions and overcoming economic stagnation, the new leader will face pressing challenges like slowing the rise in living costs and dealing with the threat posed by North Korea, which is armed with nuclear weapons.
- South Korea
- Martial Law
- Lee Jae-Myung
- Crisis
- Impeachment
- Kim Moon Soo
- Presidential Election
- North Korea
Insights:
After the tumultuous period of political instability, South Korea held a snap presidential election to elect a new leader. During the election, centrist candidate Lee Jae-Myung had a sizable lead over conservative candidate Kim Moon Soo. As the country seeks to recover from its political turmoil, the winner will face the challenges of bridging political divisions, stabilizing the economy, and managing tensions with North Korea.
- Amidst the fallout from the temporary martial law and subsequent impeachment, the South Korean political landscape has been marked by policy debates, particularly regarding employment policy, as both Lee Jae-Myung and Kim Moon Soo have presented differing views on this critical issue.
- As politics in South Korea navigates through the aftermath of the crisis, policy-and-legislation discussions in the East Asian country extend to war-and-conflicts, specifically focusing on strategies to address the persistent threat posed by North Korea, which has nuclear capabilities.
- The election of a new South Korean president will immediately produce ripples in the general-news discourse, given the call for peace and unity from South Korean voters, alongside the persistent challenges of managing crime-and-justice issues, such as investigations into the unrest that occurred during the martial law crisis.
