{"id":2442006,"date":"2025-06-02T19:55:57","date_gmt":"2025-06-02T23:55:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/south-korea-presidential-election-what-to-know-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-06-02T19:57:52","modified_gmt":"2025-06-02T23:57:52","slug":"south-korea-presidential-election-what-to-know-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/south-korea-presidential-election-what-to-know-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"South Korea presidential election: What to know &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fsouth-korea-presidential-election-what-to-know-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2442006&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses the political turmoil in South Korea following the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/impeached-south-korean-president-rallies-supporters-and-will-fight-to-the-end\/\" title=\"Impeached ...n ... rallies supporters and will &#039;fight to the end&#039;\">controversial martial law declaration<\/a> by former President Yoon Suk Yeol. Just months after this incident,which resulted in him being forced to apologize and the declaration being invalidated by the National Assembly,south Koreans are set to vote for a new leader. The favored candidate, Lee Jae-myung from the Democratic Party, is currently leading in polls and is seen as a candidate for change, promising to improve the country&#8217;s international relations while <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/arriving-at-the-right-balance-in-u-s-saudi-relations\/\" title=\"Arriving at the Right Balance in U.S. \u2013 Saudi Relations\">addressing domestic issues<\/a>. His opponent,Kim Moon-soo from the People Power Party,has struggled to <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >gain traction amid public outrage<\/a> over the martial law,despite having a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/two-republican-heavyweights-enter-race-for-house-speaker\/\" title=\"Two GOP Powerhouses Join House Speaker Race\">strong conservative base<\/a>. Other candidates trail significantly in the polls, as they prepare to address ongoing challenges, including foreign policy concerns and declining birth rates in South Korea.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">South Korea heads to polls months after president botched martial law takeover<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2102932\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/south-korea\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">South Korean politics<\/a> nearly imploded after former President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law at the end of last year.<\/p>\n<p>He alleged that a grand conspiracy of communists, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/north-korea\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"North Korean\">North Korean<\/a> assets, and subversive radicals had compromised the National Assembly and federal government.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3428656\/mexico-first-country-elect-own-supreme-court-justices\/\">Mexico becomes first country to elect its own Supreme Court justices<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3428520\/expanded-countermeasures-trump-boosts-steel-eu-tariffs\/\">EU preparing &#8216;expanded&#8217; countermeasures after Trump boosts steel tariff<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/foreign-policy\/3428196\/poland-aligns-usa-europe-trump-ally-karol-nawrocki\/\">Poland aligns with US over Europe as Trump ally Nawrocki becomes president<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>By the end of the week, the declaration had been rendered invalid by a National Assembly vote, and the overnight dictator was making a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3253342\/south-korean-president-survives-impeachment-vote-after-apology-for-declaring-martial-law\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">televised apology for his behavior<\/a>, blaming the episode on his &ldquo;desperation as the president.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>It&rsquo;s an uncomfortable act to follow, but South Koreans will <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3373291\/south-korea-presidential-election\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">head to the polls<\/a> on Tuesday morning (Monday at 5:00 p.m. EST) to select a new leader as their predecessor awaits trial.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">From left: South Korea&rsquo;s presidential candidates, Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party, Kwon Young-guk of the Democratic Labor Party, Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party, and Lee Jun-seok of the New Reform Party pose for a photograph ahead of a third televised presidential debate for the forthcoming June 3 presidential election at MBC studio on May 27, 2025 in Seoul, South Korea. (Kim Min-Hee\/Kyodo, Pool via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung is the obvious odds-on favorite to succeed Yoon, currently polling in first place with a double-digit lead.<\/p>\n<p>Lee, who survived an attempted assassination last year, was defeated by Yoon in the 2022 presidential election, and observers immediately suspected that he would run for the office again in 2027. That opportunity has come years early.<\/p>\n<p>The Democratic Party leader is positioning himself as a candidate of change who can overhaul the country domestically and internationally. While maintaining deference to the United States and assuring the voting public that he will befriend U.S. President Donald Trump, Lee has also lamented the country&rsquo;s dismal and worsening relationships with China and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/north-korea\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">North Korea<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Lee does not see cooperation with Washington as mutually exclusive with olive branches to Pyongyang and Beijing. <\/p>\n<p>He has laid the blame for almost all South Korean woes at the feet of the conservative People Power Party, of which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3260880\/south-korean-president-yoon-impeached-on-third-try\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Yoon was a member<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>That made him appear stand-offish and controversial until the martial law debacle. Now, he&rsquo;s scooping up former conservatives who feel betrayed and want to clean the slate for a new type of South Korean politics.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">South Korea&rsquo;s Democratic Party&rsquo;s presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, center, poses with his party members during a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hunter-bidens-prosecutor-rejected-legal-actions-that-wouldve-revealed-investigation-during-election\/\" title=\"Hunter Biden\u2019s Prosecutor Rejected Legal Actions That Would\u2019ve Revealed Investigation During Election\">presidential election campaign<\/a> in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, June 2, 2025. (AP Photo\/Ahn Young-joon)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Following Yoon&rsquo;s brief misadventure into authoritarianism, the PPP made a spectacle of its apologies.<\/p>\n<p>PPP candidate Kim Moon-soo was notable for seeming apathetic toward what had transpired, and even said that he would not kick the former president out of the party.<\/p>\n<p>The statement won over die-hard conservatives in the country, who began affectionately calling him &ldquo;stubborn Moon-soo,&rdquo; but failed to impress voters who felt genuine outrage about the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3249370\/south-korea-president-yoon-ousted-disgrace-martial-law\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">martial law decree<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Kim has since offered a few apologies, calling the emergency powers &ldquo;inappropriate&rdquo; and noting he should have acted more aggressively to curb the former president&rsquo;s actions.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Even if it is an authority granted under the Constitution, imposing martial law unless there is a national emergency that cannot be controlled by police power is inappropriate,&rdquo; Kim told the press last month. &ldquo;I sincerely and respectfully apologize.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>He has accused Lee of harboring too much sympathy for China and North Korea, asserting that any gestures of goodwill to the anti-Western nations would damage South Korea&rsquo;s relationship with its most important ally &mdash; the U.S.<\/p>\n<p>Despite his wide reach on social media and appeal to entrenched conservatives, Kim is significantly down in the polls.<\/p>\n<p>In public opinion polls, Lee currently leads with 49%. Kim follows in second place with 35%.<\/p>\n<p>Both Kim and Lee were born into poverty with little hope of reaching heights such as the presidential office. Their individual stories speak to South Koreans who believe in an optimistic, meritocratic nation.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Kim Moon Soo, presidential candidate with the People Power Party, center, holds a presidential election campaign rally alongside his party members in Seoul, South Korea, late Monday, June 2, 2025. (AP Photo\/Ahn Young-joon)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>While it is almost certain that Kim or Lee will come out on top, there are technically four candidates on the ballot.<\/p>\n<p>Lee Jun-seok, the candidate for the New Reform Party, is in a distant third with 11%. The fourth and final candidate, Kwon Young-guk of the Democratic Labor Party, is polling in the low single digits.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to shaky foreign policy and a sluggish economy, South Korean politics continues to focus on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3341008\/conservatives-south-korea-fertility-rate-family-policies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">existential threat of collapsing birth rates<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3423774\/east-asian-governments-scoop-up-students-harvard-trump-feud\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">EAST ASIAN GOVERNMENTS URGE UNIVERSITIES TO SCOOP UP HARVARD STUDENTS AMID TRUMP FEUD<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>After almost a decade of collapsing fertility, the nation saw a small uptick this year that the government attributed to a &ldquo;change in social value, with more positive views about marriage and childbirth.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>South Korea recorded 238,300 births last year &mdash; still a far cry from the over 600,000 annual births recorded in the 1990s.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_2102932\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"2102932\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>South Korea votes after Yoon&#8217;s failed martial law attempt<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3468,"featured_media":2442007,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/AP25153117259799.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[8016,5894,32183,34188,32076],"class_list":["post-2442006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-8016","tag-politics","tag-presidential-election","tag-south-korea","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/AP25153117259799.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2442006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3468"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2442006"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2442006\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2442010,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2442006\/revisions\/2442010"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2442007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2442006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2442006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2442006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}