South Korea elects liberal Lee as president

What happened

Lee Jae-Myung was sworn in as South Korea's president today after his main challenger, conservative former labor minister Kim Moon-soo, conceded defeat this morning. With all votes counted from Tuesday's snap election, Lee got 49.4% to Kim's 41.2%. Turnout surpassed 79%, the highest since 1997.

Lee, a 61-year-old left-leaning former factory worker who grew up in poverty, took office immediately because his conservative predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, was impeached and removed from office for briefly declaring martial law in December.

Who said what

The election was widely seen as a referendum on Yoon, who was officially removed in April, three years into his five-year term. Lee, whose Democratic Party controls the National Assembly in Seoul, "takes office as one of the most powerful presidents that South Korea has elected in recent decades," The New York Times said.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Despite his "storming victory," Lee's "honeymoon will barely last the day," the BBC said. South Korean voters "vehemently rejected the military dictatorship that was almost forced upon them," but the new president "has a Donald Trump–shaped crisis to avert" before he can focus on strengthening democracy and uniting the country.

What next?

Lee began his five-year term hours before Trump doubled U.S. steel tariffs to 50%, hitting one of South Korea's main exports to its second-largest trading partner. Another of the country's core industries, cars, is already subject to 25% Trump tariffs.