South Koreans vote for a new president after Yoon Suk Yeol

South Koreans are voting for a new president in a rapid election triggered by the expulsion of Yoon Suk Yeola conservative who faces positions of rebellion for his Short duration imposition of martial law At the end of last year.

The vote began at 6 am local time on Tuesday in more than 14,000 electoral schools throughout the country, the Electoral Commission said. The vote ends at 8 pm local time, and the observers say that the winner could already arise at midnight.

More than 15 million people had already voted for an early two -day voting period last week, which represents almost 35% of the 44.4 million eligible voters in the country.

Surveys prior to elections suggest that Yoon’s liberal arch In a Facebook publication, Lee asked voters to “issue a severe and resolved judgment” against conservatives after the months of political agitation.

Meanwhile, the main conservative candidate, Kim Moon-Soo, has struggled to win moderate voters.

This election serves as another decisive moment in the resistant democracy of the country, but observers concern that a domestic division worsened by Yoon is far from ending and could represent a great political burden for the new president.

The winning candidate will be sworn immediately as president for a single complete period of five years without the typical two -month transition period. The new president will face important challenges, including a deceleration economy, the policies of America of President Trump and Nuclear threats in North Korea.

Lee has preached patience Trump Tariff Policyarguing that it would be a mistake to hurry the negotiations in search of an early agreement with Washington. Kim has said that he would meet Trump as soon as possible.

Final points of the campaign

In his final campaign speeches on Monday, Lee promised to revitalize the economy, reduce inequality and relieve national divisions. He urged people to vote for him, arguing that a Kim victory would allow Yoon’s “forces of rebellion” to return.

“If they somehow win, that would mean the return of the forces of the rebellion, the destruction of democracy, the depivation of the human rights of the people, the normalization of the martial law and the fall of our country in a backward nation and the third world,” Lee told the crowd gathered in a Seoul park.

Kim, a former Minister of Labor Bajo Yoon, warned that a victory of Lee would allow him to exercise excessive power, launch political reprisals against opponents and legislate laws to protect him from several legal problems, since his party already controls the Parliament.

Lee “is now trying to take advantage of all power in South Korea and establish a Hitler dictatorship,” Kim told a demonstration in Busan’s sweaty city.

North Korea Relations unclear

Relations with North Korea are still very tense since 2019, with the North focused on expanding its nuclear arsenal while refusing to dialogue with South Korea and the United States.

Since his second term began in January, Trump has repeatedly expressed his intention to resume diplomacy with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, but Kim has ignored the offer so far by making Russia his priority in foreign policy.

Lee, who wants warmer ties with North Korea, recently acknowledged that it would be “very difficult” to perform a summit with Kim Jong a short term. Lee said he would support Mr. Trump’s impulse to restart conversations with Kim Jong Un, which believed that he would eventually allow South Korea to participate in some projects in North Korea.

Foreign policy strategies for Lee understand that it is not much that South Korea can do to achieve a denuclearization of North Korea, said Paik Wooyeal, a professor at the University of Seoul and Vensei.

He said that Lee also does not share the Korean nationalist zeal held by former Liberal President Moon Jae-in, who met Kim Jong three times during his 2017-2022 mandate.

• Martial Law
• South Korea