SEOUL: South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, who is the front-runner in opinion polls to be the country’s next leader, declared his bid for the presidency on Thursday (Apr 10), promising to focus on fixing inequality and economic growth.
The presidential election will be held on Jun 3, after former president Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment, stemming from a December martial law declaration, was upheld on April.
In a video released on Thursday, Lee pledged to fix economic polarisation that he said was a key source of social conflict, highlighting how he felt this had exacerbated the recent political turmoil in the wake of Yoon’s martial law order.
Lee said he would drive large-scale investments at the government level in technology and talent development to resuscitate economic growth.
Lee, who has sought to brand himself as a pragmatist, said it did not matter who launched a policy but what was important was whether the policy was useful.
Conservative critics have warned that the opposition could undermine the alliance with the United States and threaten improved ties with Japan, but Lee vowed a pragmatic approach to diplomacy.
“Realistically speaking, the South Korea-US alliance is important, and South Korea, US-Japan cooperation is important. Within that, the consistent principle is the national interest of the Republic of Korea is the top priority,” Lee said.
