Jamaine Punzalan

Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate for South Korea's Democratic Party, speaks to the press after casting his early vote for the upcoming presidential election at a nearby polling station in Seoul on May 29, 2025. Anthony Wallace, AFP

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="blob:https://od2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com/b67b6b67-875b-41ff-96cf-0ed7ae563323" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate for South Korea&#x27;s Democratic Party, speaks to the press after casting his early vote for the upcoming presidential election at a nearby polling station in Seoul on May 29, 2025. Anthony Wallace, AFP </span></span></span></div><p>Lawsuits, scandals, armed troops and a knife-wielding attacker all failed to deter Lee Jae-myung&#x27;s ascendancy from sweatshop worker to the cusp of South Korea&#x27;s presidency.</p><p>After losing by a gossamer thin margin in 2022, the Democratic Party candidate has returned to the ballot, and is now poised to replace the political rival he was instrumental in unseating.</p><p>Opponents decry Lee, 60, for his populist style. But his rags-to-riches personal story sets him apart from many of South Korea&#x27;s political elite.</p><p>After dropping out of school to work at a factory to support his family, he suffered a disabling elbow injury in an industrial accident.</p><p>He earned a scholarship to study law and passed the bar to become an attorney.</p><p>Lee has used this origin story to cultivate a loyal support base and frame himself as understanding the struggles of the underprivileged.</p><p>&quot;You can worry about people outside shivering in the cold while you sit in your warm living room,&quot; Lee told AFP in a 2022 interview.</p><p>&quot;But you can never really understand their pain.&quot;</p><p>Polls suggest the margin between Lee and his closest challenger, conservative Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party, has narrowed in recent days, with some showing a single-digit margin.</p><p>But Lee has consistently maintained his lead since the race was triggered by the impeachment of former president Yoon Suk Yeol over his brief declaration of martial law in December.</p><div><iframe width="1250" height="703" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DichhIJNtdo" title="MOMENT: South Korea&#x27;s Constitutional Court ousts impeached President Yoon | ABS-CBN News" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>LIVE-STREAMING A CRISIS</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>South Korea has experienced a leadership vacuum since lawmakers suspended Yoon for deploying armed troops to parliament in his failed attempt to suspend civilian rule.</p><p>During the tense minutes following that move, Lee live-streamed his frantic scramble over the perimeter fence as he and other lawmakers rushed to vote down the martial law decree.</p><p>&quot;It was a race against time,&quot; he recalled in an interview with AFP.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2024/12/3/disbelief-outrage-at-south-korea-s-short-lived-martial-law-0730">Disbelief, outrage at South Korea&#x27;s short-lived martial law</a></div><div><iframe width="1250" height="703" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3hX5h5iaQ6M" title="WATCH: South Korea President Yoon apologizes for martial law declaration | ABS-CBN News" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><p>Lee previously served as mayor of Seongnam, south of Seoul, for eight years.</p><p>In that role, he helped shut down what had been the country&#x27;s largest dog meat market -- ending a trade that had once involved 80,000 canines a year.</p><p>He later served as governor of Gyeonggi Province -- the country&#x27;s most-populous region surrounding the capital -- for more than three years.</p><p>Lee lost his 2022 bid for the presidency to Yoon by one of the smallest margins in South Korean history.</p><p>And in 2024 he was stabbed in the neck by a man posing as a supporter and was airlifted to hospital for emergency surgery.</p><p>The attacker later confessed that his intention was to kill Lee to prevent him from becoming president.</p><p>If elected next week, Lee has vowed, among other things, to boost South Korea&#x27;s artificial intelligence industry, with the goal of making the country one of the top three global leaders in the field.</p><p>He has also called for holding those involved in the martial law attempt accountable -- promising to &quot;bring insurrection elements to justice&quot;.</p><p>During his early days in politics, Lee drew criticism for his confrontational attacks on political opponents.</p><p>But Kim Hye-kyung, his wife of 34 years with whom he shares two children, insists Lee speaks with &quot;deliberation&quot;.</p><p>&quot;He&#x27;s someone who&#x27;s come up from the margins, from the very bottom,&quot; she said in a 2017 interview.</p><p>&quot;Just like how a flea has to jump to be noticed, I hope people can understand and view him in that context.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>LEGAL TROUBLES</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Lee has been dogged by legal troubles of his own, including allegations of corruption tied to a real estate development and violations of election law through the dissemination of false information.</p><p>He has denied any wrongdoing, insisting the charges are politically motivated.</p><p>In early May, Seoul&#x27;s Supreme Court overturned a lower court&#x27;s acquittal of Lee on election law charges and ordered a retrial.</p><p>But with the election looming, the Seoul High Court postponed the proceedings until after the June 3 vote.</p><p>If Lee wins, legal experts say the proceedings would be suspended due to presidential immunity, and would only resume after his single five-year term ends in 2030.</p><p>Lee&#x27;s opponents argue the charges are serious enough to disqualify him from running.</p><p>&quot;With these kinds of corruption allegations, how can you seek public office?&quot; Kim Moon-soo, his main opponent in next week&#x27;s vote, said during a televised debate on Friday.</p><div><iframe width="1250" height="703" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LeRtSE18eEs" title="South Korean president reverses martial law decree after night of protests | ABS-CBN News" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>

<p>Lawsuits, scandals, armed troops and a knife-wielding attacker all failed to deter Lee Jae-myung's ascendancy from sweatshop worker to the cusp of South Korea's presidency.</p>

Lawsuits, scandals, armed troops and a knife-wielding attacker all failed to deter Lee Jae-myung's ascendancy from sweatshop worker to the cusp of South Korea's presidency.

Lee Jae-myung's rise from poverty to brink of South Korean presidency

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Lee Jae-myung's rise from poverty to brink of South Korean presidency

Agence France-Presse

Published May 29, 2025 12:27 PM PHT

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