SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Lee Jae-myung, who rose from childhood poverty to become South Korea’s leading liberal politician vowing to fight inequality and corruption, will become the country’s next president on Wednesday after an election that closed one of the most turbulent chapters in the young democracy.
Lee, 60, the candidate of the liberal opposition Democratic Party, is taking office for a full, single five-year term, succeeding Yoon Suk Yeol, a conservative who was felled over his stunning yet brief imposition of martial law in December.
Pretty standard reversal of fortune for the conservatives. They’ve been ousted in scandal after scandal, dating back to the OG Syngman Rhee administration.
The Parks and the Yoons cultivate a powerful base of support with the six billionaire families and their Cult church allies that effectively own S. Korea. They do clown shit, get ousted, and then spend a few years in the political doghouse.
But the liberals never bother to fully prosecute or dismantle the corrupt oligarchy that backs these guys. So they always come creeping back into power again.