The South Korean elections come at a time when the country was facing several internal and external challenges including its worst waves of COVID-19 pandemic, as the country is witnessing a sudden spike in cases.

The two front runners of the South Korean presidential elections were Lee Jae-myung from the Liberal Democratic Party and Yoon Suk-yeol from the People Power Party. According to the exit polls conducted by the major Korean broadcasting companies, there was very close competition between both leading competitors. Many pre-election surveys showed that Lee Jae-myung, a former governor of South Korea’s most populous Gyeonggi province, and his main conservative challenger and ex-prosecutor general of South Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol, were running close to each other and way ahead of 10 other contenders.

The South Korean Presidential elections 2022 turned out to be the closest race between the two leading parties, however, Yoon Seok-yeol won the election with the slightest of margins putting the newly formed conservative People Power Party into power.


South Korea's President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol receives a bouquet of flowers at the People's Power 20th Presidential Election Counting Situation Room at the National Assembly Library in Yeouido, Seoul on March 10, 2022. (Image Credit: South Korea's National Assembly)


The Election Day

South Koreans came out to vote on March 9 at 14,464 different polling stations set up throughout the country. With the rising number of COVID-19 cases and at least one million South Koreans in isolation, the National Election Commission of South Korea had a unique challenge to overcome.

Despite the reports of mismanagement and an apology statement from the National Election Commission, the turnout for the 2022 elections exceeded that of the last elections. The Total turnout was 75.7% as of 6 p.m. on March 9, compared to 72.7% in 2017. Usually, the polling stations are set up in schools and other government buildings, but considering the special situation of these elections, National Election Commission utilized privately-owned spaces such as shops and coffee houses to set up polling stations as well as designated special timing for the quarantined patients to participate in the polling process.


Live broadcast of South Korea’s 20th Presidential Elections on March 9, 2022. (Image Credit: Globe Elections United Network/videograb by IRIA)


President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol

The winning People Power Party came into being in the year 2020 as an aftermath of former President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment. Liberty Korea Party and New Conservative Party merged to form the People Power Party ahead of the presidential elections and nominated Yoon Suk-yeol as their candidate who previously served as the Prosecutor General of South Korea from 2019 to 2021.

Yoon Suk-yeol is a Seoul native and has a background in law. He is not a conventional politician and has never contested elections before. He rose to fame as the Chief Prosecutor of South Korea during the impeachment process of President Park Geun-hye.

Many observers have drawn similarities between Yoon Suk-yeol and Donald Trump, being an outspoken politician and relying on the conservative majority for his vote bank. Yoon was involved in several controversies during the elections campaign including a time where he praised South Korea’s former President Chun Doo-hwan, a military dictator who was widely known for his brutality against pro-democracy political factions.

Gender equality and issues related to women’s empowerment resonate close with the young voter in South Korea. Yoon also made controversial headlines regarding his stance on gender issues. During his campaign, while speaking on low birth rates in South Korea, Yoon said, “Feminism has been politicized to make it emotionally hard for men and women to date.” He also faced criticism for advocating the 120-hour work week policy as well as stating that “poor people should be allowed to eat sub-standard food for lower prices.”

South Korean People Power Party leader Yoon Suk-yeol speaking to reporters inside the Passion Train on February 12, 2022. (Image Credit: Yonhap)

The President-elect of South Korea also holds a firm stance on the country’s relations with its neighbor. On several occasions he has criticized President Moon Jae-in’s diplomatic policy towards Japan and North Korea, he accused President Moon of being excessively deferential towards North Korea which led to Pyongyang developing weapons that are now threatening South Korea’s security. He has stated that if North Korea keeps expanding its military capabilities, South Korea must scrap the 2018 Comprehensive Military Agreement.

On other international fronts, however, Yoon does not possess vast experience in foreign policy and international diplomacy. During his presidential campaign, he refrained from commenting too much on the ongoing situation in Ukraine, especially after his rival candidate Lee Jae-myung was widely criticized by the local and international media for stating that Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had “provoked” Russia by insisting on joining NATO.


North Korea

As South Korea progresses towards putting a new president into the Blue House, North Korea continues its spree of testing ballistic missiles with an increasing frequency. South Korean military reported on March 5 that North Korea tested its ninth ballistic missile of the year 2022 into the Sea of Japan. The Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi also confirmed that the missile was launched on March 5 and covered a distance of 300 kilometers. He further added that Pyongyang's unusually high frequency of weapons tests in the first quarter of this year is a “threat to the regional peace and security”.

The President-elect of South Korea Yoon also condemned North Korea’s missile tests by calling it an ‘unnecessary provocation’.

With the world’s attention being focused on the Russia-Ukraine crisis, many analysts deemed that North Korea’s missile test came at an odd time. There does not seem to be an apparent reason behind the timing of the test except lining it up with South Korea’s presidential elections. It is expected that North Korea would either execute its next missile launch or prepare a military parade somewhere around April 15 as South Korea goes through a Presidential Transition and National Holiday.

North Korea successfully test-fired a newly developed hypersonic missile “Hwasong-8” on September 28, 2021. (Image Credit: Rodong Sinmun/Nknews)

Despite facing severe international sanctions and regional backlash, Pyongyang has been working actively enhancing its arsenal with a wide range of weaponry including hypersonic missiles and mid-range ballistic missiles. North Korea has precisely timed missile tests that underscores the challenges for whoever wins presidential elections in South Korea.

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