South Korea’s leading presidential candidates crisscrossed the nation Monday in a last-ditch effort to sway voters before Tuesday’s snap election, triggered by former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s ousting over a failed martial law decree.
Liberal frontrunner Lee Jae-myung and conservative rival Kim Moon-soo delivered impassioned final pitches in Seoul, each vowing to heal national divisions while accusing the other of threatening democracy.
Lee Jae-myung, addressing 40,000 supporters near the National Assembly, pledged immediate economic relief for struggling families and small businesses if elected. The Democratic Party leader framed the election as a choice between preserving democracy or sliding into dictatorship, calling Yoon’s allies “insurrection sympathizers.”
Meanwhile, Kim Moon-soo apologized for his party’s role in December’s martial law crisis but warned Lee would wield unchecked power through his parliamentary majority.
The unprecedented snap vote—South Korea’s first presidential election without a transition period—follows Yoon’s April 4 removal by the Constitutional Court.
Both candidates referenced the December incident where lawmakers blocked soldiers from entering parliament to enforce martial law, a moment that reshaped the political landscape. Kim, campaigning from Jeju to Seoul, sought distance from Yoon while labeling Lee a “dangerous” figure who would govern like a dictator.
South Korea Awaits Verdict on Post-Turmoil Direction
With polls opening at 6 a.m. Tuesday for 44.39 million eligible voters, the election concludes a compressed three-week campaign marked by starkly divergent visions. Lee’s promise of economic intervention is in sharp contrast with Kim’s calls for restrained governance, as both seek to move past the trauma of presidential removal. The winner will assume office immediately upon certification Wednesday, to face urgent challenges including slowing growth and lingering distrust in institutions.
