Assassination fears have roiled South Korea’s highly charged presidential race in a new development that observers warn is reminiscent of darker, more turbulent times in the country’s political past.
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Liberal Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung on Monday expressed regret that he had to wear a bulletproof vest following concrete threats on his life, as the opposition leader accused impeached president Yoon Suk-yeol and his loyalists of orchestrating further turmoil.
At his first campaign rally of the official election period for the June 3 snap presidential election, Lee called the race “a decisive battle against the entrenched powers” who he accused of undermining the constitutional order and devastating livelihoods following Yoon’s failed attempt to impose martial law on December 3.
Wearing a white bulletproof vest under a blue DPK campaign jacket, Lee stressed the need to overcome the national crisis.
“We can no longer be trapped in the past, nor can we afford to be divided by ideology, doctrine, or political factions,” he said, stressing the importance of unity and pragmatism over partisanship.
Lee, 61, faces off against Kim Moon-soo, 73, representing Yoon’s conservative People Power Party (PPP). A former labour activist in the 1980s, Kim – known for his far-right rhetoric – shifted to conservatism after what he described as a political “awakening” following the collapse of the Soviet bloc.