South Korea’s main opposition Democratic Party on Sunday officially named former party leader Lee Jae-myung as its candidate for the June 3 snap presidential election, following the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol over his brief declaration of martial law.
Lee, 60, secured the nomination with a commanding 89.7 percent of the vote at the party’s national convention in Goyang, northwest of Seoul. He will go head-to-head with a candidate from Yoon’s conservative People Power Party (PPP), which is expected to announce its nominee on Saturday.
The emergency election was triggered after Yoon was stripped of his powers in December for attempting to impose military rule — a move that saw armed soldiers deployed around parliament in a dramatic break from South Korea’s democratic norms. The martial law decree, which lasted only six hours, was swiftly overturned by lawmakers who scaled the National Assembly’s fences to enter and vote down the order.
Accepting the nomination, Lee cast the election as a chance to restore democratic order.
“The people have entrusted me with the mission to reclaim power through an overwhelming victory — to end an era of insurrection and regression,” he said. “I will repay your trust by building a truly new Republic of Korea — one filled with hope and passion.”
Lee’s nomination marks a political comeback after his narrow loss to Yoon in the 2022 presidential race — the closest in South Korean history. Recent polling places him far ahead of potential rivals, with a Gallup Korea survey showing 38% support, while other likely candidates trail in single digits.
Among those vying for the PPP ticket are Han Dong-hoon, the party’s former leader, and Kim Moon-soo, who served as labor minister under Yoon.
Lee, however, enters the race under a cloud of legal scrutiny. He has faced several investigations on charges ranging from bribery to campaign law violations, which he has consistently denounced as politically motivated.
A Seoul appellate court cleared him in March of an election law violation, overturning a lower court ruling that could have barred his candidacy. Despite that acquittal, he still faces multiple corruption-related trials. If elected, those proceedings could be paused due to presidential immunity, resuming only after his term concludes.
AFP
