The date’s been set for South Korea’s 21st Presidential Election, after President Yoon Suk Yeol was removed from office last week for his martial law declaration last December.
It’s an early election, meaning the race will be more intense, more compact than in regular election years.
What will be the main issues put forward by each party, and what do voters want to see?
We have our correspondent Oh Sooyoung to discuss what will shape this snap election.
Q1. Candidate registrations take place next month but we’ve already seen the most prominent figures emerge.
Let’s quickly go over who they are and where they stand.
Sure. Reading the polls, we have to start with Lee Jae-myung as the clear frontrunner. He’s the Democratic Party’s most influential figure and leads public opinion polls with around 32 percent support.
Few others have entered the race from the DP’s side, other than Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon and former South Gyeongsang Governor Kim Doo-kwan.
There have been calls for an open primary to make the selection process more transparent, but Lee appears unlikely to support that.
While he hasn’t been officially nominated, it’s widely assumed he will be, with party members under growing pressure to rally behind him.
Meanwhile, the People Power Party is seeing a more crowded field.
Former Labour Minister Kim Moon-soo, former Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo, ex-party leader Han Dong-hoon, and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon are all joining the race, with Oh declaring his candidacy this weekend.
So, where do they stand? Lee remains the strongest single candidate, but his support has plateaued at around 32 to 34 percent.
Conservative candidates are well behind him, but it’s worth noting that this may change once the PPP decides on a final candidate.
The race could be close as the DP only holds a slight edge with 34 percent backing.
It was on par with the PPP two weeks ago.
Interestingly, support for a change in government dropped three points from the previous week to 48 percent, while 37 percent now say they prefer continuity.
Q2. What kind of strategies are we seeing so far?
In an ideal presidential race, candidates would debate economic and social policies and lay out their visions for the country.
But this year, experts say the contest will be dominated by political narratives.
Both major parties are framing the election as a referendum on the other.
The DP is focusing on “restoring democracy,” accusing conservatives of enabling former President Yoon’s so-called “insurrection.”
Meanwhile, the PPP is fueling “Lee Jae-myung phobia,” appealing to voters who want anyone but Lee, who faces five ongoing criminal cases.
In effect, Koreans are being asked to cast a vote of judgment against Yoon Suk Yeol’s legacy or Lee Jae-myung’s leadership.
Still, both sides will need to present credible economic and foreign policy plans.
Public anxiety over inflation, youth unemployment, and housing insecurity remains high.
Externally, U.S. tariffs and trade uncertainty are further darkening the outlook.
In response, both parties are expected to unveil pledges—from boosting core tech industries to rental subsidies and startup investments.
Skill in terms of diplomacy will also be essential. Beyond North Korea, the next president must navigate turbulent global trade and geopolitical tensions.
Q3. What kind of voting pattern might emerge this year?
Last time, swing voters had a strong influence on the outcome of the election.
That was clear with the razor-thin margin of a 0.78 percent lead that handed Yoon Suk Yeol the presidency over Lee Jae-myung.
At the time, it was mostly men in their 20s and 30s.
Experts say it’s likely to be the same demographic.
“Voters in their 60s and older tend to support the PPP, and those in their 40s and 50s tend to support the DP. Those in their 60s and older make up about 33 percent of the total electorate,.. while people in their 40s and 50s make up around 37 percent. Since the turnout rate of those over 60 is high, the vote share of both sides ends up being similar. So, ultimately, it’s those in their 20s and 30s who will decide the outcome.”
Q4. And what are these voters hoping to see?
We saw following the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye that Moon Jae-in came to power with the motto of “removing deeply-rooted evils” or, simply put, an anti-corruption drive.
In fact, President Yoon was the lead prosecutor driving some of those changes, and his own motto was to establish fairness and common sense.
That all crumbled with the fall of his administration, which the DP blame on Yoon’s martial law, and the PPP blame on the DP’s abuse of its legislative majority, which introduced 29 impeachments for government officials.
Whichever side they stand on, it’s clear there’s distrust surrounding democratic institutions and the rule of law.
“The spirit of our times demands the restoration of the rule-of-law and a return to fairness. Through the impeachment crisis of President Yoon, the rule of law was severely damaged. His administration was launched under the motto of fairness under law, but it ended up derailing midway. So I think the people, especially those in their 20s and 30s, will strongly express their desire for our society to return to fairness.”
In the wake of the Martial Law crisis,.. both conservative and liberal candidates have floated constitutional reform as a way to curb presidential overreach and prevent deadlock between branches of the state, such as the president and parliament.
Proposals range from introducing a four-year presidential term to strengthening the role of the Prime Minister or expanding local government powers.
Public support for reform is at a record high, with around 65 percent saying the 1987 Constitution needs to be updated.
National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik initially backed the push but later backed down after Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung dismissed the idea, saying it should be addressed after the election.
Whether constitutional reform remains a major issue is uncertain.
“Although constitutional reform has been discussed every time a new administration has taken office, it has never been successfully achieved, as the leader becomes passive. So I think whoever becomes president must push strongly for constitutional reform in the early days of their term.
That, in my view, would be the first step toward true national unity.”
I see. There’s clearly a need for governance to change to win back public trust.
Let’s see if the candidates can offer such change.
Thanks for your report today Sooyoung.
Source : Arirang TV, https://www.arirang.com/news/view?id=282464
Arirang TV(public institution's name)'s public work is used according to KOGL