From escaping death to becoming president: All about South Korea's new president Lee Jae-Myung

Human rights attorney and popular company prospect shelton jackson lee Jae-Myung has won the popular vote and is all set to become the next president of South Korea.

With the voter percentage nearing 80 per cent, the highest it has been in 28 years, South Koreans chose their next president after six months of political turmoil triggered by the country's shortest period of martial law.

ALSO READ | South Korea election 2025 results: Lee Jae-Myung set to be president as Kim Moon-soo concedes defeat

Addressing supporters in Seoul, Lee thanked the people for their support and vowed to work towards the unification of the country through dialogue with North Korea. He also vowed to ensure another military coup or repeat of the martial law crisis does not take place. 

With 93 percent of the votes in, Democratic Party Lee Jae-Myung is set to be president with 48.67 percent of the vote. He will be sworn in as the next president on Wednesday and begin his term immediately.

People Power Party candidate Kim Moon-soo, who conceded defeat, lost the election with a total of 42.24 percent votes. 

Lee Jae-Myung, who was already leading in the opinion polls ahead of the vote, was also projected to win based on the exit polls conducted by South Korean media.

As per KBS, Lee Jae-myung garnered 51.7 per cent of the voters, which is 12.4 points higher than the People Power Party's Kim Moon-soo, who stood at 39 per cent.

Reform Party candidate Lee Jun-seok stood at 7.7 per cent of votes in the exit polls. 

From escaping death last year to going viral for climbing the walls of the National Assembly during martial law, the 61-year-old human rights lawyer is a key figure in South Korean politics in the past few years. 

Ahead of his presidential bid, Lee served as the mayor of Seongnam in South Seoul for eight years. After this, he went on to serve as the governor of Gyeonggi province for three years.

In 2022, the Democratic Party candidate lost the presidential vote to PPP candidate Yoon Suk-Yeol by a razor-thin margin. However, despite this loss, Lee went on to serve as a the leader of the South Korean opposition and became an influential figure in Korean politics.

The former child labourer is known for his inspirational rags-to-riches story. With his career in politics, Lee has been criticised many times for his “populist” ideas which aim to make South Korea a progressive society and to battle key issues such as the country's deep-seated economic inequality, corruption and the gender-pay gap.

In 2024, the opposition leader was stabbed in the neck with a seven-inch-long knife during a visit to Busan. The DP leader was airlifted to Seoul National University Hospital for treatment. As per officials, the suspect approached Lee under the pretext of an autograph and proceeded to stab the politician.

During the martial law crisis in South Korea, former President Yoon Suk-Yeol's ordered the military to block the entry to the National Assembly. However, several politicians, incluidng Lee Jae-myung defied all odds to be present for the vote against the imposition of martial law. 

The opposition leader started a livestream on YouTube as he attempted to climb the walls of the National Assembly. Lee went viral for his effort to reach to parliament, where the National Assembly then voted for the removal of martial law.  

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