South Korea: Opposition wins presidential election
South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung has won the presidential election, replacing Yoon Suuk-yool, who was ousted due to the military emergency he illegally declared on December 3, 2024.
With 95% of the votes counted, Lee of the Democratic Party had 48.85% of the vote, compared to Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party's 41.99%, the National Election Commission said.
With 85% of the votes counted, Kim announced his defeat to Lee, thanking his voters. The victory was expected because since May, the Gallup Center had shown him as the clear winner.
The voter turnout was 78.8% of the 44.39 million people on the voter list. This is the highest turnout in more than 20 years.
The Election Commission says that in the last election in 2022, 77.1% of voters voted, compared to 70.8% in 2002. The highest turnout was between 1987 and 1997, when it exceeded 80%.
Shin Donk-sook, 80, told the BBC after casting her vote: “I knew exactly what my choice was for the candidate. I think the most important thing to consider when voting is to vote for someone who will develop society and take it in a positive direction. That’s what I hope the new president will bring.”
The election was generally peaceful, with a few notable incidents in some areas. A woman in her 60s was detained for showing her voter ID and a citizen held up a sign reading “President Kim Moon-soo.”
South Korean police said they had received 614 complaints of election irregularities. These included 115 for causing trouble, three for assaulting people, and 11 for using the streets illegally.
No female candidates ran. This was a first in 18 years. Park Geun-hye, who led South Korea from 2013 to 2017, was the country’s last female president.
Lee Jae-myung's victory is a testament to the prestige he has enjoyed since last year when he led lawmakers who had been fighting security forces to prevent them from voting in favor of Yoon.
The 61-year-old politician has served as governor of Gyeonggi Province, a lawmaker, and a human rights lawyer.
Among his promises to South Koreans is to ease tensions between his country and North Korea, and to strengthen ties with the United States, as well as China and Russia.
Because the election was called early due to Yoon's impeachment, Lee will not wait 60 days to take the oath, but will take the oath on June 4, 2025.
