Lee Jae-myung Wins Presidential Election: Will South Korea’s Political Turmoil Finally End?

Lee Jae-myung waves to his supporters in Incheon, South Korea. Image Credits: Kim Soo-hyeon/ Reuters

After months of political turmoil following South Korea’s martial law crisis in December, a new presidential election has brought hope to the country’s citizens.

On Wednesday, June 4th, opposition leader Lee Jae-myung was sworn in as South Korea’s new president. Official results showed that Lee won by nearly three million votes ahead of his main rival, Kim Moon-soo, of the incumbent conservative People Power Party.

Growing up as a former underage factory worker from a poor family, Lee became a human rights lawyer before entering politics. He served as the former mayor of Seongnam city, home to around 1 million people, and governor of Gyeonggi province and most recently served as a lawmaker.

He survived an assassination attempt in January 2024 when a man stabbed him in the neck during a public event in Busan. It was not a life-threatening injury, officials stated.

Later that year, Lee made headlines on the night former president Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law. He was one of the lawmakers who pushed past soldiers to hold an emergency vote to lift martial law. Lee live-streamed himself jumping over a fence to enter the building, a video that has gone viral and has garnered over 10 million views.

Lee now faces the most daunting set of challenges waiting to be tackled.

In recent months, South Korea’s economy has stuttered, with rising costs of living and lower consumption. The country is also deeply scarred by the martial law attempt, and it is Lee’s responsibility to heal the nation. With national challenges such as South Korea’s falling birthrate, aging society, and geopolitical tensions with China and North Korea, there are also trade talks with the U.S. over Trump’s tariffs, although no deal has been made yet.

“We can overcome this temporary difficulty with the combined strength of our people, who have great capabilities,” he said.

However, Lee also faces his own legal troubles. Lee has several ongoing trials for alleged bribery and charges related to a property development scandal. Separately, he was convicted for violating election law in another ongoing case that alleges he knowingly made a false statement during a debate in the last presidential campaign.

Lee denies all the charges against him. In a statement to CNN in December, he claimed he had been indicted on various charges “without any evidence or basis,” and that the allegations are politically motivated.

As of recently, Lee Jae-myung has mutually agreed with the U.S. President Trump to work toward a swift tariff deal in their first phone call on Friday, June 6.