Seoul - Conservative People Power Party candidate Yoon Suk-yeol, a former prosecutor-general who had never run for office before, won in the closest election in decades after a bruising campaign marred by scandals and gaffes.
The close result, the fact the rival Democratic Party will still control the one-house National Assembly, and his vow to investigate the outgoing administration means Yoon will be hard-pressed to move beyond policy failures and political battles, analysts said.
Yoon Suk Yeol, 61, said on Thursday that he would solidify an alliance with the United States, build up a powerful military and sternly cope with North Korean provocations, hours after he won the country’s hard-fought election to become its next leader.
“I’ll rebuild the South Korea-U.S. alliance. I’ll (make) it a strategic comprehensive alliance while sharing key values like a liberal democracy, a market economy and human rights,” Yoon told a televised news conference.
“I’ll establish a strong military capacity to deter any provocation completely,” Yoon said. “I’ll firmly deal with illicit, unreasonable behavior by North Korea in a principled manner, though I’ll always leave door for South-North talks open.”
After his election win, he spoke with U.S. President Joe Biden on the phone. According to a White House statement, Biden congratulated Yoon on the election and emphasized the U.S. commitment to the defense of South Korea. The statement said the two also committed to maintain close coordination on addressing the threats posed by North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.
Some experts say a Yoon government will likely be able to reinforce ties with Washington and improve relations with Tokyo but can’t really avoid frictions with Pyongyang and Beijing.
South Korea's economy is forecast to expand 3% this year, the slowest in five years, while one in four young South Koreans are effectively jobless.
Yoon has promised to rein in property prices, implement a 100-day emergency plan for the pandemic-hit economy, build more than 2.5 million apartments, cut capital gains taxes and deregulate knock-and-rebuild homes.
His success hinges on his ability to find common ground across the political spectrum, as Democrats still hold nearly 60% of 295 seats in the National Assembly.
Yoon said building a better pandemic response would be a priority for his power transition committee, which will have a dedicated team designing plans to reinforce the country’s medical capacities and more effective financial packages to help devastated service sector businesses.
-Reuters/AP