Nelson de Sá
Beijing, China (Folhapress)-Lawyer Lee Jae-Myung, 61, former factory worker, was elected in the vote on Tuesday (3). With all the banknotes accounted for, Lee, a candidate of the oppositionist Democratic Party, received 49.4% of the votes, while Kim Moon-Soo, from the governor of the power of the people, had 41.1%,
Near midnight at local time (midfield of Brasilia), already with three TV networks projecting his victory, Lee came up in front of his residence and said: “If this result is confirmed, I would like to express my respect for the great decision of the public. I will do my best to fulfill the great responsibility and mission and will not disappoint public expectations.
Lee also said that he will seek dialogue and peace with North Korea, communist dictatorship led by Kim Jong -un -two countries have never signed a formal peace agreement, and the status quo is governed by an Armistice agreement dating from 1953. The new president should still seek rapprochement with China.
According to the National Electoral Commission, participation in the polls was 79.4%, representing 2.3 points above the 2022 election and the largest in 28 years. On Tuesday night in Brasilia, Wednesday morning in Seoul, Lee was confirmed as winner of the elections by the commission.
The election is an end to half a year of institutional crisis, which began in the attempted self -ogele of former President Yoon Suk-Youol, who decreed martial law and suspended the National Assembly on December 3. In a speech, Lee said his first mission will be “to overcome the insurrection and ensure that there is never a military coup with weapons and swords aimed at the people.”
In resistance led by Lee, who is in his second term as a parliamentarian, the legislature overturned the decree hours later and, after ten days, voted for the impeachment of Yoon. “The people gave a resounding judgment against the insurrectionist regime,” said the acting leader of the Democratic Party, Park Chan-Dae, on the KBS network.
Yoon and his wife, whose corruption investigation was one of the motors of impeachment protests six months ago, remained in the focus during the election campaign and renamed Tuesday, when they vote together.
The former president even announced his departure from the PPP, just over a week ago, in what was seen by analysts as an attempt to raise the chances of Kim Moon-soo, who was minister of his government.
As president, Lee should preach pragmatism in relations with China, the largest commercial partner, but also to defend the alliance with the United States, the largest military ally, as the basis of South Korean foreign policy.
Lee will also have to deal with negotiation with the Donald Trump government, which imposed fares about the country’s products, temporarily suspended until July 8. It is expected that, as he indicated in the campaign, he awaits other negotiations from countries like Japan.
The impact of American tariffs led the OECD for Economic Cooperation and Development to reduce South Korea’s growth projection this year to 1%, as released on Tuesday itself, compared to a projection of 2.1% in December. Exports in the country fell 1.3% in May, compared to the same month of 2024.
Even before Trump, the economy was bad and weighed in the election, according to Park Chan-DAE of the Democratic Party. “Support to Lee reflects the public desire to recover from the uncontrolled economy and the collapse of subsistence means, which worsened in the three years under the government of Yoon,” he said.
