South Korea goes to polls today to elect its new President
NEW DELHI: As the South Korean constitution restricts the incumbent presidents to a single five-year term, not allowing him/her to contest elections again, about 4.4 crore South Korean nationals are casting their votes today on Wednesday to elect their new president.
The incumbent president Moon Jae-in from the ruling Democratic Party is not eligible to run for a second term.
South Korea has a total of 5.3 Crore population. About 1.6 crores voters out of 4.4 crores have already casted their votes in a pre-poling conducted last week.
About 1.61 lakhs South Korean citizens staying abroad in countries like India and elsewhere exercised their voting rights at the specially made polling booths at the diplomatic missions in their respective countries.
Out of a dozen candidates trying their luck, the Presidential candidates Lee Jae-myung from Democratic Party, Ahn Cheol-soo, People Party; Sim Sang-jung, Justice Party and Yoon Suk-yeol from People Power Party are being said to be the frontrunners in the race for the new President of the Republic of Korea.
Candidates from the ruling Democratic Party and major opposition parties have been running neck and neck for weeks in a campaign defined by scandals and a sharper focus on candidates’ personal flaws than on national issues.
Although no minor-party candidates have emerged as viable contenders, they have collectively been enjoying around 10 percent of support in polls, reflecting voter dissatisfaction with the major parties. Record COVID-19 infection rates and deaths due to the spread of the omicron variant could be contributing to voters’ desire for a change in administration.
Meet the Presidential candidates:
Lee Jae-myung is the former Gyeonggi provincial governor and was chosen by the ruling Democratic Party as the candidate to succeed President Moon Jae-in. He has carried the double burden of association with the Moon administration—which has experienced economic policy failures—and scandal rumors. He is known as a straight-talking supporters for the working class and the expansion of public welfare.
A novice to the politics, Yoon Suk-yeol is a former chief prosecutor and candidate for the opposition People Power Party. His candidacy has been fueled by the need for an opposition-party rebrand following the 2017 impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye, as well as by his objection as chief prosecutor to perceived overreach, hypocrisy, and self-dealing in prosecution reform efforts by Moon’s administration. Yoon has controversially pledged to investigate Moon administration excesses if elected. But his political amateurism and inability to control political disputes within his party have weakened his candidacy.
Ahn Cheol-soo is former software entrepreneur leads a small third party known as the People Party. Ahn has run for president three times and has attempted to triangulate policy positions as an alternative to the main-party candidates. On March 3, Ahn withdrew his candidacy and announced his support for Yoon.
The woman candidate Sim Sang-jung is the Justice Party candidate and has consistently drawn 2 to 3 percent in polls, primarily from her labor constituencies, and this is her second run for president. A major pledge of hers is to bring an end to South Korea’s two-party political structure.
