South Korea’s new president Lee Jae-myung vows to “unite” the country

South Korea’s new liberal president, Lee Jae-myung, promised in his inauguration speech on Wednesday, the 4th of June, to “unite the nation”, lift the country out of near-total ruin caused by an attempted declaration of martial law, and revive the economy, which is surrounded by global protectionism that threatens its very existence, according to the British broadcaster BBC and Reuters.
Lee will take office at a time when the country remains deeply divided, a situation that was further exacerbated after President Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law in December last year and subsequently left office.
“I will start with economic recovery and national healing,” he told the National Assembly. “Regardless of who you supported in this election… I will be the president of all the people.”
He blamed the country’s political turmoil on “political factions unwilling to work for the good of the people”.
“I will work to unite the people,” he said, adding that he would “become a president who will end divisive politics”.
However, he will have to tackle not only domestic issues, but also urgent foreign policy challenges.
Lee also promised to form a “flexible, pragmatic, market-oriented government” and announced that an emergency economic task force would be “activated immediately”.
He promised deregulation to promote innovation and business growth and pledged to resume dialogue with North Korea while maintaining a strong security alliance with the US and ensuring diplomatic balance.
After all votes were counted, Lee won 49.42% of the nearly 35 million votes cast, while his conservative rival Kim Moon-soo won 41.15% of the vote, the highest turnout in a presidential election since 1997, according to official figures.
Lee has said that when he takes office, he will first focus on solving urgent economic problems, paying attention to the high cost of living affecting middle- and low-income families, as well as the difficulties faced by small business owners.
He also has to deal with the White House’s deadline for negotiations on import duties, which Washington blames for the large trade imbalance between the two countries.