Yoon Suk Yeol, representing the conservative Individuals's Energy Get together, has been president since 2022.
He was elected by a slender margin, edging out rival Lee Jae-myung – a member of the Democratic Get together – by lower than one share level.
Yoon was a newcomer to politics, having spent the earlier 27 years of his profession as a prosecutor.
Right here's a primer on the platform and its insurance policies:
The laborious line on North Korea: Whereas his predecessor, Moon Jae-in, favored dialogue with Pyongyang, Yoon took a more durable line. He promised to extend South Korea's navy, even hinting that he would launch a pre-emptive strike if he noticed indicators of an offensive launch in opposition to Seoul.
The US-China tightrope: South Korea has positioned itself within the unenviable place of getting sturdy ties to 2 world superpowers at loggerheads: america and China.
Whereas Lee instructed he would attempt to steadiness each partnerships, Yoon made it clear which he would prioritize.
“South Korea and america share an alliance solid in blood as we have now fought collectively to defend freedom in opposition to the tyranny of communism,” Yoon stated throughout his election marketing campaign.
Since Donald Trump received his second time period final month, South Korea's presidential workplace advised CNN that Yoon had began “enjoying golf once more for the primary time in eight years, in preparation for 'golf diplomacy.' ” with the president-elect.
Issues at residence: Yoon inherited a rustic nonetheless devastated by the Covid-19 pandemic, in addition to politics polarized by corruption – and gender equality.
South Korea's gender conflict intensified within the run-up to the election, with younger voters more and more divided alongside gender traces.
Confronted with a hypercompetitive job market and excessive housing costs, so-called “anti-feminists” claimed that the nation's effort to deal with gender inequality had gone too far in favor of ladies.
In the meantime, feminists pointed to widespread sexual violence within the nation, entrenched gender expectations and the low illustration of ladies in boardrooms and politics as examples of how discrimination in opposition to ladies remains to be widespread.