Lee Jae-myung wins South Korea's early presidential election

Lee Jae-myung won South Korea's early presidential election on 3 June 2025, defeating conservative candidate Kim Moon-soo. The snap vote followed the Constitutional Court's removal of President Yoon Suk Yeol over his December 2024 martial-law declaration.

Unlike a regularly scheduled transition with a long interval, the winner of an early election took office immediately after confirmation. Lee inherited a country divided by the impeachment crisis and facing economic, demographic and security pressures.

The campaign addressed democratic institutions, cost of living, industrial policy, North Korea and relations with the United States, China and Japan. Lee had survived an assassination attempt in 2024 and faced separate legal proceedings; election victory did not automatically terminate court questions outside rules governing presidential immunity.

The National Election Commission established the result. Turnout and regional patterns showed both a clear plurality and continuing polarization. A national percentage does not indicate uniform support for every element of Lee's programme.

This item records the electoral restoration of executive authority after months of acting presidents. It remains separate from Yoon's impeachment, Lee's inauguration and later policies. The chronology makes clear that voters chose a successor through the constitutional remedy triggered by removal, not through an ordinary end of term.

The early election shortened the normal campaign calendar and followed several changes in acting leadership. Administrative continuity by the civil service helped preserve the count and transition, while political legitimacy came from the new national vote.