South Koreans vote for new president in wake of Yoon’s ouster over martial law

SEOUL South Korea AP Millions of South Koreans are voting Tuesday for a new president in a snap vote triggered by the ouster of Yoon Suk Yeol a conservative who now faces an explosive trial on rebellion charges over his short-lived imposition of martial law in December Pre-election surveys suggested Yoon s liberal archrival Lee Jae-myung appeared headed for an easy win riding on deep community frustration over the conservatives in the wake of Yoon s martial law debacle The main conservative candidate Kim Moon Soo has struggled to win over moderate swing voters as his People Power Party remains in a quagmire of internal feuding over how to view Yoon s actions This electoral contest serves as another defining moment in the country s resilient democracy but observers worry a domestic divide worsened after Yoon s martial law stunt is far from over and could pose a big political burden on the new president The past six months saw large crowds of people rallying in the streets to either denounce or help Yoon while a leadership vacuum caused by Yoon s impeachment and ensuing formal dismissal rattled the country s high-level diplomatic events and financial markets The winning candidate will right away be sworn in as president Wednesday for a single full term of five years without the typical two-month transition period The new president will face major challenges including a slowing economic activity President Donald Trump s America-first policies and North Korea s evolving nuclear threats Voting began at a m at polling stations nationwide that will close at p m Observers say the winner could emerge as early as midnight As of p m more than million people had cast their ballots Combined with the million who voted during last week s two-day early voting period voter turnout stood at South Korea has million eligible voters Final pitches made by rival candidates In a Facebook posting on Tuesday Lee whose Democratic Party led the legislative effort to oust Yoon called for voters to deliver a stern and resolute judgement against the conservatives over martial law In one of his final campaign speeches Monday Lee argued that a win by Kim would mean the the return of the rebellion forces the destruction of democracy and the deprival of people s human rights He also promised to revitalize the economic system reduce inequality and ease national divisions He urged the people to vote for him Kim a former labor minister under Yoon warned that a Lee win would allow him to wield excessive power launch political retaliation against opponents and legislate laws to protect him from various legal troubles as his party already controls parliament Lee is now trying to seize all power in South Korea and establish a Hitler-like dictatorship Kim communicated a rally in the southeastern city of Busan Lee s positions would impact nation s direction Lee who served as governor of Gyeonggi province and mayor of Seongnam city has been a highly divisive figure in South Korean 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 program 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 a political division and backpedals on promises too easily On foreign approach Lee has not made any contentious remarks just now and has steadfastly vowed to pursue pragmatic diplomacy He has called South Korea s alliance with the U S the foundation of its foreign guidelines and promised to solidify a trilateral Seoul-Washington-Tokyo partnership a stance that is not much different than the position held by South Korea s conservatives Experts say there aren t various diplomatic options for South Korea as it tries to address Trump s tariff hikes and calls for South Korea to pay more for the cost of the U S military presence as well as North Korea s headlong pursuit of nuclear weapons Experts say that has made both Lee and Kim avoid unveiling ambitious foreign initiative goals Lee s leadership still could become engaged in a little bit of friction with the Trump administration while Kim s ruling body which prioritize relations with Washington will likely offer more concessions to the U S disclosed Chung Jin-young a former dean of the Graduate School of Pan-Pacific International Studies at South Korea s Kyung Hee University Chung predicted Lee won t be able to pursue overly drastic efforts on foreign strategy and shield given the country s foreign exchange and financial markets are very vulnerable to such changes Lee has preached patience over Trump s tariff procedures arguing it would be a mistake to rush negotiations in pursuit of an early agreement with Washington Kim has commented he would meet Trump as soon as realizable On Monday South Korean business authorities held an crisis meeting to discuss a response to Trump s announcement that the U S will raise tariffs on steel and aluminum products to beginning June South Korea s central bank last week sharply lowered its development outlook to citing the anticipated impact of Trump s tariff hikes and weak domestic demand worsened by the political turmoil of past months Prospects for improved North Korea relations are unclear Relations with North Korea remain badly strained since with the North focused on expanding its nuclear arsenal while refusing dialogues with South Korea and the U S Since his second term began in January Trump has repeatedly expressed his intent to resume diplomacy with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un but Kim has so far ignored the offer while making Russia his priority in foreign agenda Lee who wants warmer ties with North Korea of late acknowledged it would be very challenging to realize a summit with Kim Jong Un anytime soon Lee declared he would advocacy Trump s push to restart talks with Kim Jong Un which he maintained would eventually allow South Korea to be involved in particular projects in North Korea Foreign agenda strategists for Lee understand there isn t much South Korea can do to bring about a denuclearization of North Korea disclosed Paik Wooyeal a professor at Seoul s Yonsei University He disclosed Lee also doesn t share the Korean nationalistic zeal held by ex-liberal President Moon Jae-in who met Kim Jong Un three times during his - term Source