Politics in Seoul just doesn't sit still. If you’ve been following the news, you know that the political map of East Asia basically did a backflip over the last year. We weren't even supposed to be talking about 2025 South Korea presidential election candidates yet—the original schedule had everyone pegged for 2027. But after the historic impeachment and removal of Yoon Suk Yeol in April 2025, the country was thrust into a high-stakes, 60-day sprint to find a new leader.
It was chaotic. It was loud. Honestly, it was a bit exhausting for anyone living through the constant stream of emergency alerts and campaign rallies.
By the time the dust settled on June 3, 2025, South Korea had a new president: Lee Jae-myung. He secured 49.42% of the vote, finally winning the Blue House (or rather, Cheong Wa Dae, which he’s quite keen on returning to) after his narrow 2022 defeat. But the story isn't just about who won. It’s about the people who nearly got there and the weird, fractured state of the opposition.
The Big Three: Who Actually Ran?
When you look back at the 2025 South Korea presidential election candidates, three names dominated every conversation. You had the liberal powerhouse, the conservative hardliner, and the young disruptor.
Lee Jae-myung (Democratic Party of Korea)
Lee is basically the comeback kid of Korean politics. After a "razor-thin" loss in 2022 and surviving a literal assassination attempt in early 2024, his path to the presidency felt almost inevitable to his supporters. He campaigned on "livelihood-ism"—a fancy way of saying he wanted to fix the cost-of-living crisis.
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His big pitch? A "Universal Basic Society." He’s moved away from some of his more radical "Bernie Sanders-esque" universal income ideas to something a bit more centrist, but he still promises huge state-led investments. He also made waves by promising to move the administrative capital to Sejong City, which is a massive deal for anyone tired of the Seoul-centric nature of the country.
Kim Moon-soo (People Power Party)
The conservatives had a much harder time. After Yoon’s impeachment, the People Power Party (PPP) was basically a house on fire. Kim Moon-soo, a 73-year-old former labor minister and labor activist-turned-hardline-conservative, eventually took the mantle.
It wasn't a smooth ride. At one point, his own party leadership tried to replace him with former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo in what Kim called a "midnight coup." He survived that internal drama, but he struggled to shake off the ghost of the previous administration. He leaned hard into security, talking about NATO-style nuclear sharing and aggressive missile defense.
Lee Jun-seok (Reform Party)
Then there’s the wildcard. Lee Jun-seok, at 40, finally hit the age requirement to run for president. He’s the former head of the PPP who got kicked out after a nasty feud with the pro-Yoon faction. Running under his own Reform Party banner, he grabbed about 8.34% of the vote. That might seem small, but in a tight race, he was the ultimate spoiler. He appealed to young, conservative men who were fed up with the "old guard" but didn't want to vote for the liberals.
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Why the Election Happened Early
You can't talk about the 2025 South Korea presidential election candidates without acknowledging the elephant in the room: the martial law declaration of December 2024. That move by Yoon Suk Yeol was the beginning of the end. It triggered a massive backlash, led to his impeachment by the National Assembly, and was ultimately upheld by the Constitutional Court on April 4, 2025.
Because the presidency became vacant, the law required an election within 60 days. That’s why the vote happened on June 3.
It’s kind of wild to think about how fast the political machinery had to move. Parties had to hold primaries in weeks, not months. The DPK primary was a landslide for Lee Jae-myung (he got nearly 90% of the party vote), but the PPP primary was a bloodbath. Han Dong-hoon, the former Justice Minister who many thought would be the next big conservative star, actually lost to Kim Moon-soo in the final round of the PPP primary.
What the Candidates Promised (and What People Wanted)
The mood on the ground was tense. People were less interested in abstract foreign policy and more worried about whether they could afford an apartment in Gyeonggi.
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- Economic Inequality: Lee Jae-myung hit this note constantly. He promised to tackle the "structural dependence" on heavy industry and pivot to a more green, tech-focused economy.
- Nuclear Ambitions: Kim Moon-soo argued that South Korea needs its own "nuclear sovereignty" or at least a much stronger security guarantee from the US, especially with North Korea acting up.
- The "Yongsan vs. Cheong Wa Dae" Debate: It sounds like a real estate dispute, but it was deeply symbolic. Lee Jae-myung promised to move the president's office back to the historic Cheong Wa Dae, reversing Yoon's controversial move to the Defense Ministry building in Yongsan.
The Fallout and What’s Next
Now that Lee Jae-myung has been sworn in (his ceremony was June 4, 2025), the focus has shifted to whether he can actually govern with such a divided country. He’s already made big moves, like nominating Kim Min-seok as Prime Minister and ordering ministries to move their headquarters out of Seoul to Busan.
But the legal troubles haven't vanished. Lee still faces multiple trials related to property development scandals from his time as mayor of Seongnam. His critics call him a "dangerous populist," while his fans see him as the only one who can stand up to the "prosecutor republic."
The 2025 South Korea presidential election candidates might have finished their race, but the internal friction in Korean society is far from over. The PPP is basically in a period of total reinvention, trying to figure out if they should follow the hardline path of Kim Moon-soo or the younger, reformist path of someone like Lee Jun-seok.
Actionable Insights for Following Korean Politics:
- Watch the Courts: The legal proceedings against Lee Jae-myung will continue to be the biggest threat to his presidency. Any major ruling could trigger a new wave of protests.
- Keep an Eye on Local Elections: With Lee suggesting a merger of Daejeon and South Chungcheong Province, the 2026 local elections will be the first big test of his "Universal Basic Society" agenda.
- Monitor US-Korea Relations: How Lee interacts with the US administration, especially regarding trade and North Korea, will determine South Korea's economic stability over the next four years.
The political landscape has changed forever, and while the "snap" part of the election is over, the long-term shifts in how Koreans vote—especially the younger generation—are only just beginning to manifest.