Lee Jae-myung, who rose from childhood poverty to become South Korea’s leading liberal politician vowing to fight inequality and corruption, will become the country’s next president on Wednesday after an election that closed one of the most turbulent chapters in the young democracy. Lee, 60, the candidate of the liberal opposition Democratic Party, is taking office for a full, single five-year term, succeeding Yoon Suk Yeol, a conservative who was felled over his stunning yet brief imposition of martial law in December. It was unclear whether Lee’s election would cause any major, immediate shift in South Korea’s foreign policy. Lee, previously accused by critics of tilting toward China and North Korea and away from the U.S. and Japan, has repeatedly stressed South Korea’s alliance with the U.S. as the foundation of its foreign policy. The toughest external challenges awaiting Lee are U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policy and North Korea’s advancing nuclear program. But experts earlier said whoever becomes president can’t do much to secure major progress in South Korea’s favor on those issues. As of 3:45 a.m. Wednesday, with over 99% of the votes counted, Lee obtained 49.3% of the votes cast in Tuesday’s early election, while main conservative contender Kim Moon Soo trailed with 41.3% — a gap that was impossible to overcome mathematically. Preelection surveys have long suggested Lee appeared headed for an easy win, riding on deep public frustration over the conservatives in the wake of Yoon’s martial law debacle. Even before Lee’s win was formally declared, Kim conceded, telling journalists that he “humbly accepts the people’s choice,” and congratulated Lee. Earlier, Lee appeared before thousands of cheering supporters on Seoul’s streets. He didn’t formally claim victory, but reiterated his major policy goals, such as revitalizing the economy, promoting peace with North Korea and easing a domestic divide. “Let us move forward with hope and make a fresh start from this moment on,” he said. “Though we may have clashed for some time, even those who did not support us are still our fellow citizens of the Republic of Korea.” Pragmatic diplomacy Lee, who served as governor of Gyeonggi province and mayor of Seongnam city, has been a highly divisive figure in politics for years. As a former child laborer known for his inspirational rags-to-riches story, Lee came to fame through biting criticism of the country’s conservative establishment and calls to build a more assertive South Korea in foreign policy. That rhetoric has given him an image as someone who can institute sweeping reforms and fix the country’s deep-seated economic inequality and corruption. His critics view him as a dangerous populist who relies on political division and backpedals on promises too easily. On foreign policy, Lee has vowed to pursue pragmatic diplomacy. He has promised to develop the alliance with the U.S. and solidify a trilateral Seoul-Washington-Tokyo partnership, a stance that isn’t much different from the position held by South Korea’s conservatives. “We’ll have to now see if the pressures of office will cause Lee Jae-myung to govern from the center — at least when it comes to matters of national security and the alliance with the United States,” said Ankit Panda, an expert with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Lee said that he would pursue better ties with North Korea, but acknowledged that it […]