In South Korea, presidential elections will be held on Tuesday. The population is choosing a successor to Yoon Suk-yeol, who was ousted last year after he suddenly declared a military state of emergency.
The election and especially the new leader of South Korea must put an end to a crisis. It was restless after Yoon declared a state of emergency on December 3.
With this measure, he tried to sideline the parliament, which is controlled by the opposition. He declared that he wanted to protect the country and sent soldiers to parliament. Under pressure from parliament, Yoon withdrew the state of emergency after six hours. He was suspended a few days later and officially removed from office in April.
South Koreans can choose from six candidates, but Lee Jae-myung is the biggest contender. Lee is the leader of the Democratic Party (DP), currently the largest opposition party. It was unclear for a long time whether Lee would be allowed to participate in the elections due to lawsuits over corruption, among other things. But those cases have been postponed for the time being.
Lee is running against Kim Moon-soo, Yoon’s successor. He is participating on behalf of the conservative People Power Party (PPP). Kim is a former Minister of Labor. According to polls, Kim is behind Lee, which means the PPP threatens to lose the presidency, writes Reuters.
New leader faces major challenges
Lee also participated in the 2022 presidential elections, but lost to Yoon in a neck-and-neck race. Lee is therefore taking up the fight and says that Koreans must choose between democracy or dictatorship. He uses the state of emergency that Yoon declared for this. He also wants to combat polarization in the country.
The new president will face several challenges, including economic setbacks in the country, the declining birth rate and inflation. The new leader will also have to formulate a policy regarding the import duties of the United States and strengthen ties with the largest trading partner China.
In South Korea, approximately 44.4 million people are allowed to vote. A third of them have already voted early. The polling stations close at 8:00 PM (local time, 1:00 PM in the Netherlands). The preliminary result is expected to be announced on Tuesday evening (Dutch time).
The Election Commission must ratify the result on Wednesday. The new president can remain in office for a period of five years.