Presidential elections-2022 in the Republic of Korea

Abstract

The presidential race of 2022 was fought on the background of the uneasy legacy of President Moon Jae-in between the candidate of the ruling Democratic Party Lee Jae-myong and the representative of the conservatives, former Attorney General Yoon Seok-yeol. Each of the camps was represented by a person who was not a typical representative of his camp and has a difficult relationship with the "core of the party". Lee is a representative of the inner-party opposition, and not Moon's successor. Yoon has found himself in the conservative camp after the conflict with the Blue House due to the logic of factional struggle and the absence of a third force in the politics of the Republic of Korea. Lee was called the Korean Bernie Sanders because of the promise of unconditional basic income and other social programs, and in foreign policy he promised to continue inter-Korean rapprochement. Yun had to reflect conservative discourse and advocated a tougher policy towards the DPRK, an alliance with the United States and the restoration of relations with Japan. The elections turned out to be a record in terms of populist promises and black PR against candidates and their families. This led to a specific situation when, on the eve of the elections, both candidates had a high anti-rating and the final gap between them was less than one percent. In such a situation, the victorious Yoon Seok-yeol will have to face the split of society, the Democrats controlling the parliament, and the need to strengthen the unity of the party in the difficult international situation and internal problems.