{"id":5253,"date":"2025-06-19T15:20:36","date_gmt":"2025-06-19T08:20:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/student-activity.binus.ac.id\/himhi\/?p=5253"},"modified":"2025-06-20T14:02:53","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T07:02:53","slug":"south-koreas-2025-election-lee-jae-myungs-victory-marks-a-democratic-turning-point","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/student-activity.binus.ac.id\/himhi\/2025\/06\/south-koreas-2025-election-lee-jae-myungs-victory-marks-a-democratic-turning-point\/","title":{"rendered":"South Korea\u2019s 2025 Election: Lee Jae-Myung\u2019s Victory Marks a Democratic Turning Point"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

South Korea held its presidential election on Tuesday, 3 June 2025, which was won by Lee Jae-Myung on Tuesday\u2019s election. The polls closed in the 3 June vote, and he was also sworn in as South Korea\u2019s president on Wednesday, 4 June. The election was held to replace the previous president, Yoon Suk Yeol, who was accused of violating the Constitution and undermining national security by placing the country under martial law and plunging the country into chaos.<\/p>\n

Yoon Suk Yeol was supposed to retire from his office as president in 2027. Still, Yoon Suk Yeol shocked the nation by declaring martial law on 3 December and citing threats of \u2018anti-state forces\u2019 and North Korea but canceled after the National Assembly secured the minimum number of votes required to revoke martial law in the early morning of 4 December. Under the law, the constitutional court upheld his impeachment on 4 April, removed him from office permanently, and immediately set the stage for a snap presidential election within 60 days.<\/p>\n

In the election, Lee Jae-Myung received nearly three million votes (49.42%), ahead of his main rival Kim Moon-Soo (41.15%), who is part of the conservative People Power Party, and the third candidate, Lee Jun-Seok (8.34%). Although Kim Moon-Soo conceded defeat to Lee Jae-Myung, Kim still congratulated Lee on his speech and said that \u2018he humbly accepts the people\u2019s decision.\u2019 Voters in South Korea sent a strong message against the rule of law and demanded the return of democracy, which is why Lee Jae-Myung’s win represents a fundamental political change in the country. In his inaugural address, the newly elected liberal president, who took office a day after the polls closed, promised to “heal the wounds of division” and head a government that “puts the people first.”<\/p>\n

After months of political unrest brought on by Yoon Suk Yeol’s challenging imposition of the rule of law in December 2024, Lee’s campaign focused on saving constitutional order, strengthening the welfare system, and reestablishing faith in public institutions. Analysts believe the sudden election turned into a de facto vote on the nation’s democratic ideals, with voter turnout approaching 79 percent, the highest in 20 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cDemocracy must never be taken for granted,\u201d Lee said during his swearing-in ceremony on June 4. \u201cI will make sure no president ever misuses power in such a way again.\u201d Although legal issues related to claims of bribery and wrongdoing from previous positions, Lee must now work to bring the nation together and manage a difficult economy. He has committed to pursuing balanced diplomacy, which includes careful engagement with China, restarted talks with North Korea, and strong connections with the US and Japan.<\/p>\n

Lee Jae-Myung\u2019s rapid rise to the presidency marks not only a change in leadership but also a pivotal moment in South Korea\u2019s democratic evolution. His government now faces the challenging task of restoring political stability and public trust while guiding the country through tough economic and geopolitical issues under strong public support, high voter turnout, and elevated expectations. All eyes are on President Lee to fulfill his promises and guide the nation toward a more open, equitable, and cohesive future as South Korea closes a difficult chapter.<\/p>\n

References:<\/strong>
\nGuinto, J. (2025, June 3). South Korea election: A simple guide to the 2025 presidential race. BBC News. https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/c8e66565wj0o<\/p>\n

Jazeera, A. (2025, June 3). South Korea election results 2025: Who won, who lost, what\u2019s next?. Al Jazeera. https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/6\/3\/south-korea-election-results-2025-who-won-who-lost-whats next<\/p>\n

Mason, J., & Brunnstrom, D. (2025, June 4). White House calls South Korea election \u201cfair,\u201d expresses concern about Chinese influence. Reuters. https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/china\/white-house-calls-southkorea-election-fair-expresses-concern-about-chinese-2025-06-04\/<\/p>\n

South Korea election: Exit poll shows liberal candidate Lee forecast to win | AP News. (2025, June 3). AP News. https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/south-korea-election-da088cf36a61641e23795688df01ee01<\/p>\n

Tan, Y. (2025, June 4). South Korea: New leader Lee Jae-myung pledges to \u201cunite\u201d a divided country. BBC News. https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cq549p1yd2eo<\/p>\n

What to know about South Korea\u2019s presidential election. (2025, June 2). PBS NewsHour. https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/world\/what-to-know-about-south-koreas-presidential-election<\/p>\n

Yeung, J., Seo, Y., Bae, G., Valerio, M., & Kent, L. (2025, June 4). South Korea\u2019s opposition leader Lee wins election as voters punish conservatives after martial law chaos. CNN. https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2025\/06\/03\/asia\/south-korea-presidential-election-results-intl-hnk<\/p>\n

Yim, H., & Park, J. (2025, June 4). South Korea\u2019s new President Lee vows to revive democracy from \u201cnear demise.\u201d Reuters. https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/asia-pacific\/south-koreas-liberal-new-president-lee-jae-myung-vows-economic-revival-judgement-2025-06-03\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

South Korea held its presidential election on Tuesday, 3 June 2025, which was won by Lee Jae-Myung on Tuesday\u2019s election. The polls closed in the 3 June vote, and he was also sworn in as South Korea\u2019s president on Wednesday, 4 June. The election was held to replace the previous president, Yoon Suk Yeol, who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":5257,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,329],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-irb-news-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/student-activity.binus.ac.id\/himhi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5253","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/student-activity.binus.ac.id\/himhi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/student-activity.binus.ac.id\/himhi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/student-activity.binus.ac.id\/himhi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/student-activity.binus.ac.id\/himhi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5253"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/student-activity.binus.ac.id\/himhi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5253\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5258,"href":"https:\/\/student-activity.binus.ac.id\/himhi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5253\/revisions\/5258"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/student-activity.binus.ac.id\/himhi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/student-activity.binus.ac.id\/himhi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/student-activity.binus.ac.id\/himhi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/student-activity.binus.ac.id\/himhi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}