The News
Exit polls showed left-wing Democratic Party candidate and frontrunner Lee Jae-myung leading South Korea’s presidential election “by a landslide,” AFP reported.
The snap election caps a six-month stretch of intense political instability and paralysis in South Korea, after former president Yoon Suk Yeol briefly declared martial law in December, a move that led to his removal from office and a criminal indictment.
Analysts suggested that while the election may smooth a period of unprecedented political turmoil in South Korea, it could lead to a geopolitical reorientation in Asia.
Frontrunner Lee is seen as possibly pursuing a more independent foreign policy that supports closer ties with China, a Eurasia Group expert said: “This is a turning point. Not just for Korea, but for the entire Indo-Pacific.”