Lee Jae-myung, leader of South Korea's largest opposition party, is the leading candidate for the country's next president. Will he continue to run away with the presidency as ”Korea's Trump”?

On the 14th of this month, the National Assembly of Korea passed an impeachment bill against South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol. Depending on the decision of the Constitutional Court, Yoon may be removed from office and a presidential election may be held.
In this situation, interest in the next presidential candidate is also growing. The person who has emerged as the leading candidate for the next president is Lee Jae-myung (61), chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea.
His frank way of speaking is similar to that of the next US president, Donald Trump, and he is also called the "Korean Trump." He is also known as a hardliner on Japan. If Lee becomes president, he will be able to maintain the foundations of the government built up under the Yoon administration.
The friendly relations between the two countries that Lee has maintained over the years are expected to be significantly revised. Lee has been indicted on multiple charges, and he faces the "judicial risk" of being stripped of his right to run for office.
With the possibility of Yoon's impeachment becoming a reality, attention is focused on whether Lee will continue to run away with the reins. Lee is a former member of Andong County (now Andong City) in North Gyeongsang Province in the southeast.
He grew up in a garden and after graduating from elementary school, he worked as a boy factory worker while passing the exams to graduate from middle school and high school. He graduated from Chung-Ang University in South Korea in 1986 and became a lawyer.
He served as mayor of Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province from July 1, 2007 to March 15, 2018, and as governor of Gyeonggi Province from July 2018 to October 25, 2021.
He ran for president in March 2022 and fought a fierce battle with Yoon until the end, but lost by a narrow margin of about 240,000 votes. Although he had no experience as a member of the National Assembly, he was elected in a by-election in June 2022.
He was finally able to wear the parliamentary badge. In July of the same year, he announced his candidacy for the party leadership election. He won by a large margin, receiving 77.77% of the support, the highest in the party's history, and was inaugurated as party leader.
Until now, he has been directly confronting the Yoon administration and criticizing the government's Japan policy, which has pursued a friendly course, as "humiliating diplomacy."
In 2013, he called Japan an "enemy country" that posed a military threat, and described the treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant as "nuclearly contaminated water." When the release of treated water into the ocean began, the Yoon administration effectively banned the release.
Lee has also faced legal risks due to allegations of bribery surrounding the urban development he promoted while he was mayor of Seongnam, and his involvement in North Korea-related scandals.
He is currently on trial for five charges, including allegations that he forced private companies to illegally transfer a total of $8 million to North Korea in connection with cooperative projects, and allegations that he provided benefits to private companies while he was governor of Gyeonggi Province.
Last month, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Lee to one year in prison and suspended execution for violating the Public Offices Election Act for making false statements in relation to the 2022 presidential election.
He was sentenced to two years in prison (two years was the prosecution's request). If the ruling is upheld by the Supreme Court, Lee will not be able to run for president. At the time of the ruling, the South Korean newspaper Dong-A Ilbo reported, "Lee's path to the presidency is blocked.
The red light was on. Lee, who was found guilty, appealed. The law stipulates that the first trial for violation of the Public Offices Election Act must be completed within six months, and the second and third trials within three months.
As mentioned above, if the first-instance ruling is upheld in the advanced trial, Lee will not be able to run for president. Therefore, the Democratic Party of Korea, of which Lee is the representative, has decided to hold a presidential election with the support of Yoon's wife, Kim Gun-Hee.
The administration has stepped up its offensive on issues surrounding Nozomi, among others, and has sought to force Yoon's impeachment under the slogan "Let's settle this within six months."
Just then, Yoon declared a temporary state of emergency this month.
The bill to impeach Yoon was submitted to the National Assembly, accusing him of violating the constitution by "attempting to suspend the constitutional order and committing an attempted civil war in an attempt to seize permanent power." The bill was passed on the 14th, with 204 votes in favor.
The bill passed with 85 votes in favor and 85 against, suspending Yoon's presidential powers. The Constitutional Court will now decide whether Yoon should be impeached, and if so, a presidential election will be held within 60 days.
It can be said that Lee has an unexpected chance to become the top politician in the country.
According to a poll conducted by C&I on the 14th to 16th at the request of "Straight News", the next president
Lee was ranked first with 48% of votes as the most suitable person to lead the government, six times more than the second-placed candidate. Lee has opposed the ruling People Power Party, saying that it is necessary to form a coalition with the National Assembly to decide government policy.
On the 20th, the People's Power Party decided to accept the call for the establishment of a "national governance community" where representatives of the opposition parties can hold talks. Currently, the ruling party does not have a majority of seats in the National Assembly, so it is not possible to form a single government.
Although the Democratic Party of Korea, the largest opposition party, is unable to pass budget proposals or other important bills on its own, the operation of the National Assembly and administration will be smoother with the cooperation of the Democratic Party of Korea.
Lee, who has emerged as a possible presidential candidate, has demonstrated his commitment to normalizing national politics, leading some to believe he has already "started his journey toward the presidential election."