South Korea votes for new president after martial law turmoil

SEOUL - South Koreans began voting on June 3 for a new president, six months to the day that former leader Yoon Suk Yeol plunged the country into political chaos with his disastrous declaration of martial law.

A handful of elderly voters lined up at a polling station in Seoul’s Munrae-dong area at 6am (5am Singapore time) to cast their ballots when voting began.

“We were the first to arrive with the hope our candidate gets elected, and because the presidential election is the most important,” Madam Yu Bun-dol, 80, told AFP, adding that she was voting for the conservative People Power Party (PPP) – Yoon’s former party.

Millions have already cast their ballots in the snap election, with more than a third of registered voters doing so last week during two days of early voting, the National Election Commission said.

All major polls have put liberal Lee Jae-myung well ahead, with the latest Gallup survey showing 49 per cent of respondents viewed him as the best candidate.

Campaigning is not allowed on election day, but Lee posted on Facebook that the vote would “show the strength of the Korean people” after months of turmoil.

Mr Kim Moon-soo from the conservative PPP has trailed Lee in the polls, with 35 per cent in the Gallup survey.

The fallout from martial law, which has left South Korea effectively leaderless for the first months of US President Donald Trump’s second term, is the top concern for voters, experts said.

Dr Kang Joo-hyun, a political science professor at Sookmyung Women’s University, told AFP: “Polls show the election is viewed largely as a referendum on the previous administration.

“The martial law and impeachment crisis not only swayed moderates, but also fractured the conservative base.”

Yoon’s impeachment over a disastrous declaration of martial law, which