The chief of South Korea's ruling party was admitted to hospital on Monday after being hit on the head by a stranger while campaigning for this week's presidential election, in which early voting has been marred by some lapses.
A tight race between Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party and Yoon Suk-yeol of the conservative main opposition People Power Party was reflected in a record turnout of nearly 37% in two days of absentee voting that ended on Saturday.
Monday's attack on Song Young-gil, leader of the Democrats and Lee's election campaign, was yet another twist in a race overshadowed by scandals, smear tactics and gaffes.
Song was struck on the head with a small hammer-like tool, wielded by a man wearing a traditional robe who approached him from behind, a video uploaded to YouTube by a Democrat campaigner showed.
Reuters could not independently verify the images, but party officials said Song was in stable condition and the man, subdued by officials, was handed to police.
“Violence harms democracy, it can never be accepted,” the party's presidential candidate, Lee, told another rally in the southeastern port city of Busan, and wished Song a rapid recovery.
The incident came as poll officials scrambled to revamp plans after early voting procedures were blighted by long waits outside poll stations for coronavirus sufferers, while other voters received ballots already marked.
As daily Covid-19 infections hover near unprecedented levels above 200,000 and more than 1 million receive treatment at home, parliament passed a legislative amendment to ease in-person voting by such patients.
But chaos erupted at many polling places during Saturday's special early voting for infected voters, spurring repeated apologies from the National Election Commission (NEC) for failing to ensure a stable and orderly process.
“All the problems resulted from our failure at thorough preparations, and we are fully responsible for falling short,” it said in a statement.
There was no sign of foul play, it added, but officials held an emergency meeting on Monday to tighten procedures ahead of the wider vote.
President Moon Jae-in expressed regret on Sunday, asking the NEC to fully explain the errors and guarantee all people's right to vote, his spokesperson said.
The chaos represented a blow for South Korea, tarnishing its 35-year democratic history of tight and relatively transparent management of elections, and a mostly successful fight on Covid-19.
Instead of letting voters directly cast ballots, some election workers collected and carried them in a shopping bag or wooden bucket to place in ballot boxes, the NEC said.
Some voters received ballot-papers that had already been used, while others had to wait in long queues in the cold, with at least one reported to have fainted.
Opposition candidate Yoon's campaign criticised the NEC, saying, “An elementary classroom election could not be sloppier,” and urged its chairwoman, Noh Jeong-hee, to step down.
Lee's party dismissed the opposition's demand for Noh's resignation but demanded steps to avert more confusion.
About 44 million South Koreans are eligible to vote for a successor to Moon, who is legally barred from re-election at a time of growing frustration over skyrocketing home prices, polarised politics and graft scandals.
What to know about South Korea’s presidential election
By HYUNG-JIN KIM and KIM TONG-HYUNG
1 of 8 A woman wearing protective gear sprays disinfectant as a precaution against the coronavirus while people wait in line at a local polling station of the early voting for the March 9 presidential election in Seoul, South Korea on March 4, 2022. Tens of millions of South Koreans are expected to vote Wednesday, March 9 to choose their new president. The winner will take office on May 10 for a single five-year term. Whoever wins, a new leader will be tasked with resolving various economic woes, easing threats from nuclear-armed North Korea and healing a nation sharply split along the lines of ideology, generation and gender.
(AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Whoever wins South Korea’s presidential election Wednesday will face a host of major issues, including skyrocketing housing prices, threats from nuclear-armed North Korea and a debate about how to heal a nation sharply split along ideological, generational and gender lines.
Here’s what to know about the election for leader of the world’s 10th-largest economy.
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WHAT’S AT STAKE
The winner will take office on May 10 for a single five-year term. Current liberal President Moon Jae-in is barred by law from seeking reelection. The candidate who receives the most votes is declared the winner, even if that person fails to achieve majority support.
The present election system was adopted in 1987 when South Korea’s then military-backed government caved to massive pro-democracy protests and accepted sweeping liberalizing measures.
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THE CANDIDATES
The election has boiled down to a showdown between ruling liberal Democratic Party candidate, Lee Jae-myung, and his conservative opposition rival, Yoon Suk Yeol, from the People Power Party. Both have been criticized for negative campaigning and for not presenting long-term visions on how to lead South Korea.
Lee is a former governor of the populous Gyeonggi province that surrounds Seoul, while Yoon is a former prosecutor general who entered party politics last year.
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WHO CAN VOTE
About 44 million South Korean nationals aged 18 or older are eligible to vote, out of the country’s population of about 52 million people. About 16 million of them already cast ballots during early voting last week.
Separately, about 161,820 voters who are living abroad also already cast ballots at polling booths established at South Korean diplomatic facilities. Tens of thousands of others on remote islands, at nursing homes or on ships have been voting by mail or fax.
On Wednesday, polling stations are open from 6 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
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MAIN ISSUES
Lee and Yoon have been bickering over North Korea’s advancing nuclear arsenal and an intensifying U.S.-China rivalry.
Lee, who has often expressed nationalistic views, hopes to win exemptions from U.N. sanctions against North Korea to revive stalled inter-Korean economic cooperation projects. He also believes Seoul could act as a mediator between Washington and Pyongyang to revive dormant nuclear diplomacy.
Yoon says he would seek a stronger U.S. security commitment to deter North Korean aggression. He wants to launch preemptive strikes on the North if it displays signs of attack.
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While Lee favors a balancing act between Washington and Beijing — Seoul’s chief security ally and its biggest trading partner, respectively — Yoon has made it clear that a boosted alliance with the United States would be the center of his foreign policy.
Both have promised to offer economic relief to small business owners hit by pandemic-related restrictions, provide millions of public housing units throughout the country and to create more jobs.
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SCANDALS
The mudslinging between Lee and Yoon involves plenty of bizarre accusations targeting the candidates and their families.
Yoon’s wife was forced to apologize over suspicions that she falsified her work experience when applying for teaching jobs at colleges. Lee’s wife also apologized over allegations that she privately used official funds and made public servants do her personal errands while her husband served as a Gyeonggi governor.
Yoon has attacked Lee over allegations that Lee is a central figure in a corrupt property development project launched in the city of Seongnam when he was mayor there. Lee and his allies have tried to link Yoon to that scandal and also accused the opposition candidate and his wife of having depended on shamanism, an ancient religious belief, too much.
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VIRUS FEARS
Wednesday’s vote will take place as coronavirus infections surge. Virus patients and others placed in quarantine are allowed to cast ballots when regular voting closes at 6 p.m. They are asked to vote at designated polling booths, while election workers will be equipped with gloves, masks, face screens and protective suits.
Arranging a voting process for virus carriers was crucial, with health authorities rapidly expanding at-home treatments to save hospital resources. As of Monday, more than 1.15 million people with mild or moderate symptoms were being asked to isolate at home.
‘Squid Game Election’: South Korean campaign gets uglyLee Jae-myung, center, the presidential candidate of the ruling Democratic Party, poses with his supporters during a presidential election campaign in Seoul, South Korea on March 3, 2022. Just days before March 9 election, Lee and Yoon Suk Yeol from the main conservative opposition People Power Party are locked in an extremely tight race.
(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon).
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The race between South Korea’s two leading presidential candidates has seen unprecedented levels of toxic rhetoric, mudslinging and lawsuits.
How bad is it?
“Hitler,” “beast,” and “parasite” are some of the choicer insults leveled by both camps. Some are even calling it “The Squid Game Election,” in reference to Netflix’s megahit survival drama where people are killed if they lose children’s games.
And the stakes? There’s widespread speculation that the loser will be arrested.
“It’s a dreadful presidential election when the losing contender faces prison. Please survive this dogfight in the mire!” senior opposition politician Hong Joon-pyo wrote on Facebook.
Just days before Wednesday’s election, Lee Jae-myung from the liberal governing Democratic Party and Yoon Suk Yeol from the main conservative opposition People Power Party are locked in an extremely tight race.
Their negative campaigns are aggravating South Korea’s already severe political divide at a time when it faces a battered, pandemic-hit economy, a balancing act over competition between its main ally, Washington, and its top trading partner, China, and a raft of threats and weapons tests from rival North Korea.
Opinion surveys show that both candidates have more critics than supporters.
“Isn’t our national future too bleak with an unpleasant and bitter presidential election that calls for choosing the lesser of two evils?” the mass-circulation Dong-A Ilbo newspaper said in an editorial.
Yoon has slammed Lee over his possible ties to an allegedly corrupt land development scandal. Lee has denied any connection, and in turn has tried to link Yoon to the same scandal, while separately criticizing him for his reported ties to shamanism — an ancient, indigenous religious belief.
There have also been attacks on the candidates’ wives, both of whom have been forced to apologize over separate scandals.
Yoon described Lee’s party as “Hitler” and “Mussolini” while an associate called Lee’s purported aides “parasites.” Lee’s allies called Yoon “a beast,” “dictator” and “an empty can” and derided his wife’s alleged plastic surgery.
Their campaign teams and supporters have filed dozens of lawsuits charging libel and the spread of false information, among other issues.
“This year’s presidential election has been more overwhelmed by negative campaigning than any other previous election, and the mutual hatred won’t easily die down after the election,” said Choi Jin, director of the Seoul-based Institute of Presidential Leadership.
Among the fault lines in the electorate are South Korean regional rivalries, views on North Korea, a conflict between generations, economic inequality and women’s rights issues.
Yoon is more popular with older voters and those in the southeastern region of Gyeongsang, where past conservative and authoritarian leaders came from. His supporters typically advocate a stronger military alliance with the United States and a tougher line on North Korea, and they credit past authoritarian rulers for quickly developing the economy after the Korean War.
Lee enjoys greater support from younger people and those from Jeolla province, Gyeongsang’s rival region in the southwest. His supporters generally want an equal footing in relations with the United States and rapprochement with North Korea while being extremely critical of past authoritarian rulers’ human rights records.
In a notable development, many surveys showed Yoon has received greater approval ratings than Lee from voters aged 18 to 29, most of whom were born after South Korea became a developed country.
“They didn’t experience poverty and dictatorships. ... They are very critical of China and North Korea, and they have rather friendly feelings toward the U.S. and Japan,” said Park Sung-min, head of Seoul-based MIN Consulting, a political consulting firm.
South Korea’s deep divisions are reflected in the troubles of the last three leaders. Their supporters say intense corruption investigations after they left office were politically motivated by their rivals.
During a corruption probe of his family, former liberal President Roh Moo-hyun jumped to his death in 2009, a year after he left office. His successor, the conservative Lee Myung-bak, and Lee’s conservative successor, Park Geun-hye, were separately convicted of a range of crimes, including corruption, and given lengthy prison terms after Roh’s friend and current President Moon Jae-in took office in 2017.
Park was pardoned in December, but Lee is still serving a 17-year prison term.
Moon’s government took a big hit with a scandal involving Moon’s former justice minister and close associate, Cho Kuk. Cho and his family members are alleged to have participated in financial crimes and the faking of credentials to help Cho’s daughter enter medical school.
Cho was seen as a reformist and potential liberal presidential hopeful. Moon’s early attempts to keep Cho in office split the public, with his critics calling for Cho’s resignation and supporters rallying to his side during large street protests.
Yoon originally served as Moon’s prosecutor general and spearheaded investigations of previous conservative governments. But he eventually left Moon’s government and joined the opposition last year after a conflict with Moon’s allies over the Cho case helped him emerge as a potential presidential contender.
“Cho’s case was a watershed in South Korean politics. It made Yoon a presidential candidate, and many in their 20s and 30s switched their support from Moon,” said Choi, the institute director.
During a recent TV debate, Yoon and Lee agreed not to launch politically motivated investigations against the other side if they win. But some question their sincerity.
In a newspaper interview last month, Yoon said that if elected, his government would investigate possible wrongdoing by the Moon government and also the land development scandal that Lee has been allegedly linked to.
When Moon’s government was conducting widespread investigations of past conservative governments, Lee said they were necessary to eradicate “deep-rooted evils and injustice.”
Cho Jinman, a professor at Seoul’s Duksung Women’s University, said a new president must exercise restraint and calm calls for political revenge by hard-line supporters.
“We now have an election race like ‘Squid Game,’ but it will be a new president’s responsibility to pull us out of it,” he said.
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Associated Press writer Kim Tong-hyung contributed to this report.
