South Korea s election frontrunner Lee Jae myung still leaves many unconvinced

SEOUL – Lee Jae-myung is still the frontrunner in South Korea’s presidential race, but what once looked like a landslide victory has turned into a much closer contest.

Just a few weeks ago, the left-leaning opposition candidate appeared almost certain to win, after the chaotic downfall of conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached and ousted from office following a failed attempt to impose martial law.

That left his party fractured and in disarray.

But the most recent polls before the final week of the campaign show Lee’s lead over the ruling party’s candidate Kim Moon-soo has narrowed.

That’s an indication some voters aren’t really buying Lee’s attempts to shift toward the political centre.

It’s also a clear reminder that no matter who wins on June 3, they’ll face the tough task of leading a deeply fractured nation.

That divide is especially apparent in Daejeon, a high-tech city of 1.5 million people that is home to South Korea’s leading research institutes.

It’s also a bellwether region in national politics.

In the 2022 presidential election, voters here supported Yoon of the People Power Party. Just two years later, during parliamentary elections, they flipped in favour of Lee’s Democratic Party.

Now, both Lee and Mr Kim are zeroing in on Daejeon as a must-win battleground.

For Lee, keeping those Democratic Party voters on his side is critical, but it’s no easy feat.

“No one can be indifferent to what happened with the martial law and the state of the economy,” said Mr Han Jae-oh, a 23-year-old college student in Daejeon. “But Lee just has too many controversies surrounding his personal life.”

Mr Han says he would vote for a candidate who prioritises tackling the country’s demographic crisis and reforming its drying pension fund.

Mr Han believes Mr Kim would be better