Lee Jay-Mung won South Korea’s presidency

Six months after his previous martial law bid failed, South Korea gave the opposition candidate Lee Jay-Mung a decisive victory.

A brief and destructive action dismissed massive protests and ended the career of former President Yun Suk Yiol: he was still facing criminal charges for misusing his powers.

But the post -political chaos is that Vijayashali Lee’s biggest challenge is still ahead of him. He must unite the polarized country, which is still retreating from it.

They are facing challenges abroad – most importantly, a trade agreement talks with US President Donald Trump to soften the tariffs from the nearest allies of South Korea.

His main rival is the ruling party candidate and former member of the Unun Cabinet, Kim Moon-S.

He was following Lina for weeks in voting, and on Wednesday morning he admitted defeat, congratulating Lee “about their victory.”

In the previous speech, Lee hinted at the victory but stopped declaring it. He said South Korean democracy was his first priority.

The SNAP election comes three years after Yun lost his last presidential bid for the 61-year-old.

This has been a significant comeback for a person who has been involved in many political scandals, due to the accusation of corruption.

Analysts say that Lee’s victory rejected the Pepal Power Party (PPP), which was targeted by Yun’s martial legal order.

“Voters were not expressing strong support for Lee’s agenda, but instead they were responding to what they saw as a breakdown of democracy,” Min Consulting President Park Sung-Minn told BBC.

“The election became an outrageous vehicle … (and) the clear UKEMI of the ruling party. It was helpful or directly responsible for martial legal actions.”

He says Lee’s victory is that voters have “more than anything else” the democracy of South Korea.

Yun’s departure split and disrupted his ex -party, with the May insight delayed the announcement of the presidential candidate until the beginning of May.

The mess in the PPP just exceeded Yun, because the two acting presidents were also indicted, before re -establishing one of them – a sign of how controversial the South Korean politics was.

All of this definitely helped the opposition’s Democratic Party and its candidate Lee, who suggested more stability.

But even though he won the election, his challenges are not over.

He is facing trial in the Supreme Court on charges of violating election law. The crime has been proven because the court has postponed the hearing until the election is avoided after the election.

But it is not clear what happens if Lee is now guilty, but the law states that the president who is sitting for criminal offenses, except for rebellion or treason, cannot be tried.

Lee has a controversial career in which he has built a loyal base but some have attracted disagreement and anger for some calling an abrasive style.

Before he went to college and became a human rights lawyer, he spoke openly about the tough childhood in the working class family.

He then turned to political life, in 2022 – he became his presidential candidate. He promoted a more liberal platform, for example promising to resolve gender inequality.

But after he lost the vote, he pivoted, decided to move this time more to the center and play it safely with their policies.

In the office, they have to reach throughout the hallway and work with the PPP, which they were fighting regularly during the Yun. But some of them may need to work with them to rebuild public faith and fix the fracture country.

“The polarization, which is exacerbated under the (former) Moon and Yun administration, has been harshly divided into South Korea’s political landscape,” Mr. Park said.

“Lee can talk about national unity, but he faces a deep dilemma: how to continue many opinions that many have tried the categories that many have tried to heal.”

Despite the loss of the PPP, Yun is still quite strong and has a vocal support base – and they are unlikely to go at any time quickly.

Their supporters, mainly young male voters and the elderly, echo the right -wing narratives and many of them believe that their martial law is needed to protect the country.

Many who believe that Yun’s party is a victim of electoral fraud, also make conspiracy ideologies.

Thousands protested against his indictment and in January, shortly after his arrest, the youth crowd broke into court and assaulted police officers.

After Yun is gone, there are questions about who can fill that vacuum for his source.

Specifically one name emerged: Lee Sioc, who contested for the presidency, was abandoned early on Tuesday, when the exit surveys suggested that he was very backward, only 7.7% of the votes.

Still, they are especially popular among many young people for their anti-female perspectives, reminding some of the Yun, under whom the equality of women under them became a matter of polarizing.

The 30-year-old youths came out this time in large numbers to vote, which was partially created by candidates like Lee Jun-Syok. Those who want to make the PPP-led government accountable, and those who want to ensure that Lee Jay-Mung has destroyed his seat, this year’s voter turnout led to 79.4%-it is the highest since 1997.

However, healing these divisions at home will only make Lee busy in the future. They are also facing emergency challenges abroad, such as navigating the US-Korea alliance under the new Trump administration.

“South Korea’s pressing domestic challenges are more intertwined with global dynamics,” said Mr. Park, which affects the country’s economy and protection, the US crucial business partner and a security ally.

The trade agreement with the US tops the agenda, he said, “Slow demand and slow growth are already hurting the economy.

Lee – an experienced politician – knows all this and goes to power, and he assured the voters of South Korea early in the morning.

“I will do my best to fulfill the mission and the great responsibility that has been entrusted to me not to disappoint the expectations of our people,” Lee told reporters.