Ex-prosecutor elected president
SEOUL Yoon Suk Yeol, a conservative former top prosecutor and foreign policy neophyte, was elected South Korea’s new president on Thursday, a win expected to herald Seoul’s drive to seek a stronger alliance with the United States and take a tougher line on North Korea.
With over 99 per cent of the votes counted early Thursday, Yoon from the main opposition People Power Party had 48.6 per cent against ruling liberal Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-Myung’s 47.8 per cent. It was South Korea’s most closely fought presidential election.
A crowd of supporters gathered near Yoon’s house and his party’s campaign office, shouting his name in celebration of his election win.
“This is the victory of our great people,” Yoon said in his victory speech at the party office. “I would respect our constitution and parliament and work together with the opposition party to serve our people properly.”
Yoon is to take office in May and serve a single five-year term as leader of the world’s 10th largest economy.
Earlier, Lee, a former governor of Gyeonggi province, conceded his defeat at his party headquarters.
“I did my best but wasn’t able to live up to expectations,” a glum Lee said. “I congratulate candidate Yoon Suk Yeol. I sincerely ask the president-elect to overcome division and conflicts and open a new era of unity and harmony.”
Wednesday’s election boiled down to a two-way showdown between Yoon and Lee, who spent months slamming, mocking and demonizing each other in one of the most bitter political campaigns in recent memory. Their fighting has aggravated the country’s already severe domestic divisions and stoked speculation that the losing candidate might face criminal probes over scandals that they’ve been linked to.
After winning the election, Yoon said his race with Lee and other contenders has improved South Korean politics.
Critics say neither Yoon nor Lee has presented a clear strategy for how they would ease the threat from North Korea and its nuclear weapons. They also say voters are skeptical about how both would handle international relations amid the U.S.-China rivalry and how they would address widening economic inequality and runaway housing prices.
Yoon says he would sternly deal with North Korean provocations and seek to boost trilateral security co-operation with Washington and Tokyo to neutralize North Korean nuclear threats. He has made it clear that an enhanced alliance with the United States would be the centre of his foreign policy. Yoon said he would take a more assertive stance on China.
Lee, for his part, had called for greater reconciliation with North Korea and a diplomatic pragmatism amid the U.S.-China confrontations.
Some experts say Yoon’s foreign policy stance would put Seoul closer to Washington, but he cannot avoid frictions with Pyongyang and Beijing.
“We can expect the alliance to run more smoothly and be in sync for the most part on North Korea, China, and regional and global issues,” said Duyeon Kim, a senior analyst at Washington’s Centre for a New American Security.
“Yoon’s key challenge is whether he will listen to his advisers and whether he’s able to really be tougher toward North Korea and China when he’s faced with political and geoeconomic realities after he’s in office.”
Yoon had been current liberal President Moon Jae-in’s prosecutor general but resigned and joined the opposition last year following infighting over probes of Moon’s allies. Yoon said those investigations were objective and principled, but Moon’s supporters said he was trying to thwart Moon’s prosecution reforms and elevate his own political standing.