South Korea’s new ‘president for all’ inherits a deeply divided nation

When Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung emerged victorious early on Wednesday in South Korea’s snap presidential election, elation swept through his supporters massed outside the National Assembly. Strobe lights lit the night sky, celebratory music thundered from speakers and the crowd erupted into cheers and embraces – some dissolving into tears of relief.

Just a few hundred metres away, however, the atmosphere outside the People Power Party’s (PPP) headquarters could not have been more different. There, a smaller group of far-right demonstrators clashed with police, their shouts of “rigged elections” and “resist the results” ringing out into the night. Some visibly shook with fury.

“The PPP has surrendered to a rigged election. I can’t believe they’ve sold off the country,” said a 40-year-old Seoul resident who voted for PPP candidate Kim Moon-soo.

This polarisation mirrors a deeper societal schism that now runs through South Korea’s families, workplaces and online communities.

“When I told my parents I voted for Lee Jae-myung, they called me the shame of Busan,” said Kim Ha-ru, a 20-year-old student. The port city, South Korea’s second largest, has long been a conservative stronghold.

“I told them they were backing a party that tried to stage a coup. I can’t understand them at all.”