Can South Korea’s New President Stand Up To Washington?
On June 3, the Republic of Korea (ROK) held a snap election to fill the vacant office of the presidency following the ouster of Yoon Suk-Yeol, who was impeached after his failed coup attempt on December 3, 2024. Lee Jae Myung, leader of the opposition Democratic Party (DP) and Yoon’s former rival in the 2022 election, emerged victorious with 49% of the vote, and was sworn into office on June 4.
As president, Lee now faces the challenge of navigating the economic, political, and geostrategic dimensions of the ROK’s generalized crisis. Unrelenting US aggression has pushed tension on the peninsula and the wider region to a breaking point.