UPDATED
Ex-top prosecutor elected South Korea's new president
HYUNG-JIN KIM and KIM TONG-HYUNG
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Yoon Suk Yeol, a conservative former top prosecutor, was elected South Korea’s new president on Thursday, defeating his chief liberal rival in one of the country’s most closely fought presidential elections.
With more than 98% of the ballots counted, Yoon had 48.6% of the votes against his rival Lee Jae-myung’s 47.8 %.
A huge crowd of supporters gathered near Yoon’s Seoul home, shouting his name early Thursday.
“I didn’t know you’ve come here without sleeping. I thank you for having supported me so far. Thank you, my neighbors!” Yoon said. He was expected to make a formal victory speech soon.
Yoon is to take office in May and serve a single five-year term as leader of the world’s 10th largest economy.
Earlier, Lee, a former governor of Gyeonggi province, conceded his defeat at his party headquarters. “I did my best but wasn’t able to live up to expectations,” a glum Lee said. "I congratulate candidate Yoon Suk Yeol. I sincerely ask the president elect to overcome division and conflicts and open a new era of unity and harmony.”
The election boiled down to a two-way showdown between Yoon from the opposition People Power Party and Lee from the governing Democratic Party. They spent months slamming, mocking and demonizing each other in one of the most bitter political campaigns in recent memory, aggravating the country’s already severe domestic divisions.
Critics say neither candidate has presented a clear strategy for how they would ease the threat from North Korea and its nuclear weapons. They also say voters are skeptical about how both would handle international relations amid the U.S.-China rivalry and how they would address widening economic inequality and runaway housing prices.
Yoon says he would sternly deal with North Korean provocations and seek to boost trilateral security cooperation with Washington and Tokyo. Yoon has said he would make a enhanced alliance with the United States the center of his foreign policy while taking a more assertive stance on China.
After North Korea’s latest reported ballistic missile launch on Saturday, Yoon accused North Korean leader Kim Jong Un of trying to influence the results of the South Korean election in favor of Lee.
“I would (teach) him some manners and make him come to his senses completely,” Yoon told a rally near Seoul.
Lee, for his part, has called for greater reconciliation with North Korea and a diplomatic pragmatism amid the U.S.-China confrontations.
The election comes as South Korea has been grappling with an omicron-driven COVID-19 surge. On Wednesday, health authorities reported 342,446 new virus cases, a record high. People infected with the coronavirus voted after regular voting ended Wednesday evening.
South Korea’s Constitution limits a president to a single five-year term, so Lee’s party colleague, President Moon Jae-in, could not seek reelection. Moon came to power in 2017 after conservative President Park Geun-hye was impeached and ousted from office over a huge corruption scandal.
With conservatives initially in shambles after Park’s fall, Moon’s approval rating at one point hit 83% as he pushed hard to achieve reconciliation with North Korea and delve into alleged corruption by past conservative leaders. He eventually faced a strong backlash as talks on North Korea’s nuclear program faltered and his anti-corruption drive raised questions of fairness.
Yoon had been Moon’s prosecutor general but resigned and joined the opposition last year following infighting over probes of Moon’s allies. Yoon said those investigations were objective and principled, but Moon’s supporters said he was trying to thwart Moon’s prosecution reforms and elevate his own political standing.
Yoon’s critics have also attacked him over a lack of experience in party politics, foreign policy and other key state affairs. Yoon has responded that he would let experienced officials handle state affairs that require expertise.
Exit polls: Race to elect SKorea leader is too close to call
By HYUNG-JIN KIM and KIM TONG-HYUNG
Wednesday, March 9, 2022
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A woman casts her vote for presidential election at a local polling station in Busan, South Korea, Wednesday, March 9, 2022. South Koreans were voting for a new president Wednesday, with an outspoken liberal ruling party candidate and a conservative former prosecutor considered the favorites in a tight race that has aggravated domestic divisions.
(Park Sung-jae/Yonhap via AP)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Exit polls released after South Korea’s hard-fought presidential election on Wednesday indicated that results for the two main candidates -- an outspoken liberal governing party candidate and a conservative former top prosecutor -- were too close to call.
The election has boiled down to a two-way showdown between liberal Lee Jae-myung, the former governor of Gyeonggi province, and his main conservative challenger, Yoon Suk Yeol. The two spent months slamming, mocking and demonizing each other in one of the most bitter political campaigns in recent memory, aggravating the country’s already severe domestic divisions.
A joint exit poll by KBS, MBC and SBS television stations predicted that Yoon, from the opposition People Power Party, would win 48.4% of votes cast, beating Lee of the Democratic Party with 47.8%.
But another exit poll by the JTBC television network projected that Lee would defeat Yoon by 0.7 percentage points.
Election officials earlier said vote counting may take longer than usual because of an extended voting time for COVID-19 patients, and that the winner may not be clear until early Thursday.
About 44 million South Koreans aged 18 or order were eligible to vote, out of the country’s 52 million people. About 16 million cast ballots during early voting last week. The tentative turnout was 77.1% after polls closed Wednesday, the fifth highest ever since the country restored direct presidential elections in 1987 following decades of military dictatorship, according to the National Election Commission.
The winner of Wednesday’s vote will take office in May and serve a single five-year term as leader of the world’s 10th largest economy.
Lee and Yoon recently agreed that if they won they would not launch politically motivated investigations against the other, but many believe the losing candidate could still face criminal probes over scandals they’re been linked to.
Critics say neither candidate has presented a clear strategy for how they would ease the threat from North Korea and its nuclear weapons. They also say voters are skeptical about how both would handle international relations amid the U.S.-China rivalry and how they would address widening economic inequality and runaway housing prices.
“Despite the significance of this year’s election, the race has centered too much on negative campaigning,” said Jang Seung-Jin, a professor at Seoul’s Kookmin University, adding that neither leading candidate laid out a convincing blueprint on how they would lead South Korea.
The election comes as South Korea has been grappling with an omicron-driven COVID-19 surge. On Wednesday, health authorities reported 342,446 new virus cases, a record high. People infected with the coronavirus voted after regular voting ended Wednesday evening.
Ahead of the vote, Jeong Eun-yeong, a 48-year-old Seoul resident, said she was agonizing over which candidate is “the lesser of two evils.”
“Nobody around me seems happy about voting” for either Lee or Yoon, she said. “We need a leader who would be really devoted to improving the lives of working-class citizens.”
While Lee and Yoon have some similar economic and welfare policies, they’ve clashed over North Korea and other foreign policy issues.
Lee, who has often expressed nationalistic views, calls for exemptions to U.N. sanctions on North Korea so that dormant inter-Korean economic projects can be revived, and hopes to mediate between the North and the U.S. over the North Korean nuclear crisis. Yoon says he would sternly deal with North Korean provocations and seek to boost trilateral security cooperation with Washington and Tokyo.
On confrontation between Washington, Seoul’s top military ally, and Beijing, its biggest trading partner, Lee says picking a side would pose a greater security threat to South Korea. Yoon wants to enhance the alliance with the United States.
After North Korea’s latest reported ballistic missile launch on Saturday, Yoon accused North Korean leader Kim Jong Un of trying to influence the results of the South Korean election in favor of Lee.
“I would (teach) him some manners and make him come to his senses completely,” Yoon told a rally near Seoul.
Lee wrote on Facebook that he would push for a diplomatic solution to North Korean nuclear tensions but won’t tolerate any act that would raise animosity.
South Korea’s Constitution limits a president to a single five-year term, so Lee’s party colleague, President Moon Jae-in, could not seek reelection. Moon came to power in 2017 after conservative President Park Geun-hye was impeached and ousted from office over a huge corruption scandal.
With conservatives initially in shambles after Park’s fall, Moon’s approval rating at one point hit 83% as he pushed hard to achieve reconciliation with North Korea and delve into alleged corruption by past conservative leaders. He eventually faced a strong backlash as talks on North Korea’s nuclear program faltered and his anti-corruption drive raised questions of fairness.
Yoon had been Moon’s prosecutor general but resigned and joined the opposition last year following infighting over probes of Moon’s allies. Yoon said those investigations were objective and principled, but Moon’s supporters said he was trying to thwart Moon’s prosecution reforms and elevate his own political standing.
Yoon’s critics have also attacked him over a lack of experience in party politics, foreign policy and other key state affairs. Yoon has responded that he would let experienced officials handle state affairs that require expertise.
Lee, a former human rights lawyer who entered local politics in 2005, has established an image as a tough-speaking anti-elitist who can get things done and fix establishment politics. But his opponents call him a dangerous populist relying on divisions and demonizing opponents.
Yoon has launched a political offensive against Lee over allegations that he was a key figure in a corrupt land development project in the city of Seongnam when he was mayor there. Lee has tried to link Yoon to the same scandal. Both of their wives have offered public apologies over separate scandals.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Exit polls released after South Korea’s hard-fought presidential election on Wednesday indicated that results for the two main candidates -- an outspoken liberal governing party candidate and a conservative former top prosecutor -- were too close to call.
The election has boiled down to a two-way showdown between liberal Lee Jae-myung, the former governor of Gyeonggi province, and his main conservative challenger, Yoon Suk Yeol. The two spent months slamming, mocking and demonizing each other in one of the most bitter political campaigns in recent memory, aggravating the country’s already severe domestic divisions.
A joint exit poll by KBS, MBC and SBS television stations predicted that Yoon, from the opposition People Power Party, would win 48.4% of votes cast, beating Lee of the Democratic Party with 47.8%.
But another exit poll by the JTBC television network projected that Lee would defeat Yoon by 0.7 percentage points.
Election officials earlier said vote counting may take longer than usual because of an extended voting time for COVID-19 patients, and that the winner may not be clear until early Thursday.
About 44 million South Koreans aged 18 or order were eligible to vote, out of the country’s 52 million people. About 16 million cast ballots during early voting last week. The tentative turnout was 77.1% after polls closed Wednesday, the fifth highest ever since the country restored direct presidential elections in 1987 following decades of military dictatorship, according to the National Election Commission.
The winner of Wednesday’s vote will take office in May and serve a single five-year term as leader of the world’s 10th largest economy.
Lee and Yoon recently agreed that if they won they would not launch politically motivated investigations against the other, but many believe the losing candidate could still face criminal probes over scandals they’re been linked to.
Critics say neither candidate has presented a clear strategy for how they would ease the threat from North Korea and its nuclear weapons. They also say voters are skeptical about how both would handle international relations amid the U.S.-China rivalry and how they would address widening economic inequality and runaway housing prices.
“Despite the significance of this year’s election, the race has centered too much on negative campaigning,” said Jang Seung-Jin, a professor at Seoul’s Kookmin University, adding that neither leading candidate laid out a convincing blueprint on how they would lead South Korea.
The election comes as South Korea has been grappling with an omicron-driven COVID-19 surge. On Wednesday, health authorities reported 342,446 new virus cases, a record high. People infected with the coronavirus voted after regular voting ended Wednesday evening.
Ahead of the vote, Jeong Eun-yeong, a 48-year-old Seoul resident, said she was agonizing over which candidate is “the lesser of two evils.”
“Nobody around me seems happy about voting” for either Lee or Yoon, she said. “We need a leader who would be really devoted to improving the lives of working-class citizens.”
While Lee and Yoon have some similar economic and welfare policies, they’ve clashed over North Korea and other foreign policy issues.
Lee, who has often expressed nationalistic views, calls for exemptions to U.N. sanctions on North Korea so that dormant inter-Korean economic projects can be revived, and hopes to mediate between the North and the U.S. over the North Korean nuclear crisis. Yoon says he would sternly deal with North Korean provocations and seek to boost trilateral security cooperation with Washington and Tokyo.
On confrontation between Washington, Seoul’s top military ally, and Beijing, its biggest trading partner, Lee says picking a side would pose a greater security threat to South Korea. Yoon wants to enhance the alliance with the United States.
After North Korea’s latest reported ballistic missile launch on Saturday, Yoon accused North Korean leader Kim Jong Un of trying to influence the results of the South Korean election in favor of Lee.
“I would (teach) him some manners and make him come to his senses completely,” Yoon told a rally near Seoul.
Lee wrote on Facebook that he would push for a diplomatic solution to North Korean nuclear tensions but won’t tolerate any act that would raise animosity.
South Korea’s Constitution limits a president to a single five-year term, so Lee’s party colleague, President Moon Jae-in, could not seek reelection. Moon came to power in 2017 after conservative President Park Geun-hye was impeached and ousted from office over a huge corruption scandal.
With conservatives initially in shambles after Park’s fall, Moon’s approval rating at one point hit 83% as he pushed hard to achieve reconciliation with North Korea and delve into alleged corruption by past conservative leaders. He eventually faced a strong backlash as talks on North Korea’s nuclear program faltered and his anti-corruption drive raised questions of fairness.
Yoon had been Moon’s prosecutor general but resigned and joined the opposition last year following infighting over probes of Moon’s allies. Yoon said those investigations were objective and principled, but Moon’s supporters said he was trying to thwart Moon’s prosecution reforms and elevate his own political standing.
Yoon’s critics have also attacked him over a lack of experience in party politics, foreign policy and other key state affairs. Yoon has responded that he would let experienced officials handle state affairs that require expertise.
Lee, a former human rights lawyer who entered local politics in 2005, has established an image as a tough-speaking anti-elitist who can get things done and fix establishment politics. But his opponents call him a dangerous populist relying on divisions and demonizing opponents.
Yoon has launched a political offensive against Lee over allegations that he was a key figure in a corrupt land development project in the city of Seongnam when he was mayor there. Lee has tried to link Yoon to the same scandal. Both of their wives have offered public apologies over separate scandals.
Women in South Korea say no to 'No 2' men when choosing who to date
Rebecca Moon
Tue, March 8, 2022
As South Korea prepares for its presidential election on March 9, women in the dating scene are taking dates’ presidential candidate preferences into major consideration.
The two leading candidates, Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party (DP) and Yoon suk-yeol of the People Power Party (PPP) are running in a tight race while representing opposing ideologies.
Lee’s campaign advocates for expanding welfare and basic income while driving economic growth through investments in digital and renewable energy industries. Yoon’s conservative campaign promotes smaller government, deregulation and market-led solutions.
Young voters and prospective dates have begun using a numbering system to indicate their preferred presidential candidates, referring to Lee as “Candidate No. 1” and Yoon as “Candidate No. 2.”
The term “No 2 man” has been trending online amongst women in reference to men who support presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol. And as gender politics have continued to play a big role in the election — with many critics calling out Yoon for making misogynistic comments — women online have taken to using the term “No 2 man” to refer to any young man who displays similarly misogynistic behaviors or tendencies.
Yoon campaigned on an election pledge to abolish South Korea’s Ministry of Gender Equality and Family while suggesting that the country’s low birth rate is attributed to feminism.
Many of Yoon’s opponents and critics have compared him to former U.S. President Donald Trump, saying that both have shown support for controversial global political figures, expressed antifeminist sentiments and made offensive comments about foreign countries.
As a result of Yoon’s allegedly antifeminist sentiments, Korean women have begun calling his supporters “No 2 men” and have described them as undesirable partners who are misogynistic “losers” and “nobodies.”
In contrast to the “No 2 men,” Korean women have labeled supporters of Lee Jae-myung as “No 1 men” and described them as possessing more praiseworthy characteristics.
A viral tweet posted by @hohoholov comparing the physical appearances of “No 1 men” and “No 2 men” using snippets of televised coverage of the election, also suggested that “No 1 men” were more physically attractive.
Male supporters of Yoon have responded to the trending tagline by posting and sending photos of themselves holding signs that state, “I am a No 2 man” to the antifeminist organization New Men’s Solidarity.
Featured Image via Lee Jae-myung (left), Yoon Suk-yeol (right)
South Koreans will vote for a new president Wednesday with economic inequality a top concern despite growing sabre-rattling from the nuclear-armed North.
© Jung Yeon-je
A man walks past posters of South Korea's presidential candidates (top row) in Seoul on March 6, 2022, ahead of the March 9 presidential election
Record early voting indicates turnout will be high after a campaign dominated by mud-slinging between liberal Lee Jae-myung and conservative Yoon Suk-yeol.
The pair have been neck-and-neck in the polls for months, with around 90 percent of the electorate supporting one or the other.
Analysts say South Korean politics is particularly adversarial, with democracy only restored in 1987 after decades of authoritarian rule.
Presidents serve just a single term of five years, and every living former leader has been jailed for corruption after leaving office.
Yoon has already threatened to investigate outgoing President Moon Jae-in, citing unspecified "irregularities".
Polling stations open at 6 am (2100 GMT) and shut at 6 pm. For 90 minutes after closing, Covid-positive voters will be allowed to cast their ballots.
South Korea is in the grip of an Omicron wave with more than 200,000 new cases being recorded on most days this month.
More than a million people are currently isolating at home after testing positive, health authorities say. The country amended its electoral laws last month to ensure they would be able to vote.
In a two-day early voting exercise last week, a record-breaking 37 percent of the 44 million people eligible cast their ballots -- the highest number since the system was introduced in 2013.
Polls show the top concerns among the electorate are skyrocketing house prices in the capital Seoul, rising domestic inequality and stubborn youth unemployment.
The new president will also have to confront an increasingly assertive North Korea, which has embarked on a record-breaking blitz of weapons tests this year including a launch just days before the election.
- 'Tone deaf' -
Lee, a former child factory worker turned politician, has offered a slew of fresh policies from a universal basic income to free school uniforms -- but his ideas have been overshadowed by media coverage of scandals.
The 57-year-old is under pressure over a controversial land development deal in which private investors profited from a state-funded project on Lee's watch as mayor of the city of Seongnam.
He was also forced to start his campaign by apologising for a profanity-laden phone call with his family involving disputes with his late brother and mother.
His conservative rival Yoon has called for a relaxation of labour regulations including a lowering of the minimum wage and the removal of limits on working hours.
The former top prosecutor is also promising to abolish the gender equality ministry, saying South Korean women do not suffer from "systemic gender discrimination", despite evidence to the contrary.
Yoon has made a series of gaffes on the campaign trail including most recently with a tweet on Ukraine in which he posted a tangerine with an angry face in a bizarre reference to the country's Orange Revolution of 2004.
Critics described the tweet as "tone deaf".
The winner of the election will formally succeed Moon in May. The incumbent remains popular, despite not achieving a promised peace deal with North Korea.
kjk/ceb/axn
Record early voting indicates turnout will be high after a campaign dominated by mud-slinging between liberal Lee Jae-myung and conservative Yoon Suk-yeol.
The pair have been neck-and-neck in the polls for months, with around 90 percent of the electorate supporting one or the other.
Analysts say South Korean politics is particularly adversarial, with democracy only restored in 1987 after decades of authoritarian rule.
Presidents serve just a single term of five years, and every living former leader has been jailed for corruption after leaving office.
Yoon has already threatened to investigate outgoing President Moon Jae-in, citing unspecified "irregularities".
Polling stations open at 6 am (2100 GMT) and shut at 6 pm. For 90 minutes after closing, Covid-positive voters will be allowed to cast their ballots.
South Korea is in the grip of an Omicron wave with more than 200,000 new cases being recorded on most days this month.
More than a million people are currently isolating at home after testing positive, health authorities say. The country amended its electoral laws last month to ensure they would be able to vote.
In a two-day early voting exercise last week, a record-breaking 37 percent of the 44 million people eligible cast their ballots -- the highest number since the system was introduced in 2013.
Polls show the top concerns among the electorate are skyrocketing house prices in the capital Seoul, rising domestic inequality and stubborn youth unemployment.
The new president will also have to confront an increasingly assertive North Korea, which has embarked on a record-breaking blitz of weapons tests this year including a launch just days before the election.
- 'Tone deaf' -
Lee, a former child factory worker turned politician, has offered a slew of fresh policies from a universal basic income to free school uniforms -- but his ideas have been overshadowed by media coverage of scandals.
The 57-year-old is under pressure over a controversial land development deal in which private investors profited from a state-funded project on Lee's watch as mayor of the city of Seongnam.
He was also forced to start his campaign by apologising for a profanity-laden phone call with his family involving disputes with his late brother and mother.
His conservative rival Yoon has called for a relaxation of labour regulations including a lowering of the minimum wage and the removal of limits on working hours.
The former top prosecutor is also promising to abolish the gender equality ministry, saying South Korean women do not suffer from "systemic gender discrimination", despite evidence to the contrary.
Yoon has made a series of gaffes on the campaign trail including most recently with a tweet on Ukraine in which he posted a tangerine with an angry face in a bizarre reference to the country's Orange Revolution of 2004.
Critics described the tweet as "tone deaf".
The winner of the election will formally succeed Moon in May. The incumbent remains popular, despite not achieving a promised peace deal with North Korea.
kjk/ceb/axn
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