Republic of Korea inaugurates new president

Lee Jae-myung, candidate of the liberal Democratic Party of the Republic of Korea, formally began his presidential term on June 4 morning after winning the election the previous day.

Lee won the June 3 election with 49.42 percent of the final vote, defeating the 41.15 percent of Kim Moon-soo, candidate of the conservative People Power Party, by 8.27 percentage points, according to the ROK's National Election Commission.

A total of 79.4 percent of the 44.39 million eligible voters had cast their ballots in the snap election triggered by the removal of former president Yoon Suk-yeol over his botched martial law.

It was the highest rate in 28 years since the 1997 election, when the turnout was 80.7 percent, according to the NEC.

Lee garnered 17.3 million votes, which was the highest number of votes in a presidential election and surpassed Yoon's record of 16.4 million votes in the 20th presidential election in 2022.

But it did not break the vote rate record set by former president Park Geun-hye, who gained 51.55 percent in 2012.

Since the snap election was held to fill a leadership vacancy, Lee swore in immediately without a transition period after the NEC confirmed the final results.

In a speech at 1 am June 4, when the majority of votes were counted, Lee vowed to restore Constitutional order, promote national unity, and prioritize economic revival.

He also said he aims to stabilize the relationship with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, prioritizing dialogue instead of confrontation.

kelly@chinadailyapac.com