South Korea elects Lee president, capping 6 months of chaos

SEOUL, South Korea —South Korea’s opposition candidate Lee Jae-myung vowed to improve people’s livelihoods as his main rival acknowledged defeat in a presidential election that was largely a popular verdict on ousted leader Yoon Suk Yeol’s botched attempt to revive martial law after decades of democratic rule.

With 90% of the ballots counted, Lee, a left-leaning former labor activist, had won 48.4% of the vote while the ruling People Power Party’s candidate Kim Moon-soo had 42.6%, according the National Election Commission, a narrower margin than indicated by an earlier exit poll.

The outcome of the vote is expected to mark a turning point for South Korea after six months of chaos following the debacle of the martial law, a clumsy sledgehammer-like move that shocked the world, spooked markets and triggered the nation’s worst constitutional crisis in decades.

“I will never forget the mission you expect of me and have entrusted me with, and I will firmly and reliably fulfill it without a single moment of deviation,” Lee said around 1:15 a.m. near the National Assembly in Seoul, just before Kim conceded. He said his first task was to avoid a recurrence of any imposition of martial law and his second was to revive the economy.

Lee said he wanted to ensure the sovereignty of the people within a democratic country “where we live together with mutual recognition and cooperation rather than hatred and loathing.”

Lee face the challenges of trying to unite a deeply fractured country after three tumultuous years of conservative rule. He’ll also be looking to restore growth to a shrinking economy that is among the most vulnerable in the world to U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs.

While his victory looks solid, it’s not the landslide he might have hoped for when Yoon was impeached and arrested. That shows that hardened opposition to him remains, though working with a majority in parliament will give him more scope than Yoon to proceed with policy.

“Governing unilaterally, empowered by unified control of the executive and legislative branches, may be tempting, but will not address the underlying conditions of partisan polarization and mutual intolerance that led to last December’s insurrection,” said Celeste Arrington, a Korea expert at George Washington University.

The election outcome will also impact foreign policy. Lee has largely indicated he will continue to build on trilateral relations with the U.S. and Japan, having toned down his more bristling stance on Washington as he moved to toward the political center. But Lee favors a more balanced approach to dealing with Washington and Beijing, and the possibility of dialogue with Pyongyang.

“We will stabilize the situation on the Korean Peninsula as quickly as possible to minimize the so-called Korea Risk and do our best to ensure that the livelihoods of our citizens do not worsen due to the security issues of the Korean Peninsula,” Lee said.

Regarding his strategy on trade talks, Lee had said policymakers shouldn’t rush into a deal with the U.S. Exports are equivalent to more than 40% of South Korea’s gross domestic product making the winning of meaningful concessions from Trump key to softening the blow of his protectionist policies.

The 25% reciprocal levies slapped on South Korea are among the highest for a U.S. ally, should they come into full effect after a 90-day suspension. Additional sectoral tariffs will hurt key export sectors including semiconductors, cars, steel and aluminum.

Once his victory is officially confirmed and he is sworn in around noon on Wednesday, Lee’s first phone call to an overseas head of state will be Trump, a local media report in Seoul indicated. That’s a possible sign that he is now more prepared to put practicalities ahead of political philosophy in favor of the nation’s interests.

“We actually have a decent number of bargaining chips. So there can be plenty of give and take. We just need to play it well,” Lee said in an interview with local broadcaster CBS aired on the eve of the election. “This isn’t about me, it’s about all our people, so I’d crawl through Trump’s legs if needed.”

Asia’s fourth-largest economy is a key player in supply chains, providing the world with everything from the latest smartphones and autos to ultra-large ships and cutting-edge chips. Exports had already softened before Trump announced his tariffs, but the shadow they cast over the economy has already been among the factors prompting the Bank of Korea to lower interest rates.

But for many voters, tackling the economy is more about improving everyday livelihoods and people’s access to affordable housing and rewarding jobs than protecting the export sector.

Lee has already said he’ll rustle up 35 trillion won ($25.4 billion) in a stimulus package if elected to provide aid to households and businesses. He’s said he’ll try to increase the supply of housing, offer stronger labor protections, and curb the power of South Korea’s family-run conglomerates. But he also favors corporate governance changes that he says will lift stocks on the Kospi benchmark above 5,000. The Kospi has been hovering around the 3,000 mark in recent days.

Among other policies he has floated are constitutional reform to enable two-term presidencies and the shutting down of the nation’s coal-fired power stations. He’s far less supportive of nuclear power than his conservative rival Kim.

Kim ended up getting more votes than initially expected, following his own party leadership’s efforts to replace him with a more centrist candidate.

The support he gained shows the strength of conservative support even after the shocking events of December. But despite some borrowing of U.S. slogans such as “Stop the Steal,” Kim conceded without drama.

“I humbly accept the choice made by the people,” Kim said at party headquarters. “I extend congratulations to candidate Lee Jae-myung on his victory.

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(With assistance from Heesu Lee, Shinhye Kang, Sohee Kim, Haram Lim, Jaehyun Eom, Sam Kim and Ben Baris.)