Two candidates, Lee Jae-myung and Kim Moon-soo, who are hoping to become South Korea’s next president, are making their final pitches to voters ahead of the June 3 election.
On June 2, they crisscrossed the country with varying promises to revive the economy and steer the Far Eastern nation out of months of political turmoil sparked by a failed attempt to impose martial law.
After their travels, Lee, who represents the liberal Democratic Party, and his conservative rival Kim, from the People Power Party (PPP), will converge on the capital, Seoul, for the main vote on June 3. Some ballots have already been cast during two days of early voting held last week.
The National Election Commission reported that more than 15 million South Koreans cast their votes during that period, a turnout of 34.74 percent, the second-highest figure since nationwide early voting was introduced in 2014.
The election was triggered by the removal of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who imposed martial law for several hours in December 2024, plunging Asia’s fourth-largest economy into months of political upheaval.
Lee has said he will heal the divisions deepened in the aftermath of the incident and has accused the PPP, formerly led by Yoon, of being “insurrection sympathizers.”
Yoon is currently on trial for insurrection, an accusation he denies, but the implications of the ongoing case have nonetheless dogged Kim throughout the campaign.
“We are at a historic inflection point of whether we go on as a democratic republic or become a country of dictators,” Lee told a campaign rally in the capital.
Later, he said his top priority as president would be reforming the economy, adding that this includes addressing the struggles of Korean small-business owners and the rising cost of living.
Kim began his last day on the campaign trail on the southern island of Jeju before heading north.
He expressed his regret again on June 2 for Yoon’s martial law declaration and vowed to institute political reform should he be victorious after the June 3 vote.
The three-week campaign is set to come to a close on June 2 at midnight, local time.
The winner, who will be certified on June 4, will have only a few hours before taking office, without the usual two-month transition, as the post is currently held by an acting president.
Polling third is Lee Jun-seok of the conservative Reform Party, which formed in January 2024 after splitting from the PPP, with 10.3 percent.
None of the other three candidates has registered significant numbers in the polls.
The election is run on a single-round, first-past-the-post system, with the winner simply being the candidate who gains the most votes.
Whoever is successful can hold the office for a five-year term and is not permitted to stand for reelection.
The president is the head of state, head of government, and commander in chief of the nation’s armed forces.
