South Korea's Conservative President-Elect Vows to Bring Country Closer to America

South Korea’s conservative President-Elect Yoon Seok-yeol spoke directly to American President Joe Biden on Thursday following his victory in Wednesday’s election, vowing publicly to bring his country close to the United States after five years of left-wing government pushing for closer relations with China.

Yoon, of the right-wing People Power Party, defeated leftist Democratic Party rival Lee Jae-myung with the smallest margin in the history of presidential elections in South Korea. According to the country’s center-right Chosun Ilbo, Yoon received 48.56 percent of the vote against Lee’s 47.83 percent, a difference of 0.73 percent. Polls throughout the year indicated that whoever won would do so with a razor-thin margin.

The campaign for president was one of the hardest-fought in the country in recent memory, a campaign one newspaper described as “unpleasant and bitter,” where both candidates compared each other to dictators. Yoon faced, among other criticisms, accusations of racism and “shamanism,” while Lee faced accusations that his wife, Kim Hye-kyung, treated government assistants as personal servants.

In remarks following his win, Yoon promised to “solely trust the people and follow the people’s will,” according to a translation by Yonhap.

“(The election results) constitute a call for reform, and the restoration of justice and common sense as well as the people’s desperate appeal to do politics of unity, not division,” Yoon said. “It is a stern order to make a nation with new hopes … and I will never forget such a call from the people.”

“I will keep away from any forces or ideologies that threaten the free democracy and adhere to the common sense of the people in running the nation,” he promised.

Yoon later revealed to the press that Biden was the first head of state to call to congratulate him and invited him to the White House when his schedule allows.

According to the South Korean news service Yonhap, People Power Party (PPP) officials divulged the call and relayed that Yoon “emphasized the need for stronger cooperation over North Korea’s provocations, while Biden said that the U.S. is closely monitoring the situation in North Korea and that close coordination among Seoul, Washington and Tokyo is important for policies on Pyongyang.”

Biden has entirely failed to develop any sort of relationship with North Korea. The communist Kim regime confirmed a year ago that it was actively ignoring phone calls from Biden officials.

The White House readout of the call between Biden and Yoon largely treaded the same ground as the PPP’s version, adding that the two allegedly discussed “climate change” and “the COVID-19 [Chinese coronavirus] pandemic.”

“The two also committed to maintain close coordination on addressing the threats posed by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s nuclear and missile programs,” the White House said.

During the press conference where the PPP revealed the phone call, Yoon promised that he would respond to any provocations from Pyongyang “sternly.” He also stated that he sought “respect” in the relationship between North Korea and China.

A “stern” North Korea policy would be a dramatic shift from incumbent Moon Jae-in, who sought a policy of concessions to the Kim regime during his time in the presidency. Moon visited North Korea on several occasions, at one point climbing the sacred volcano Mount Paektu with dictator Kim Jong-un and their wives. Moon attempted and repeatedly failed to find a way to formally end the now 72-year-old Korean War and increase dialogue with Pyongyang.

Yoon campaigned in part on a promise to harden South Korea’s stance towards China, with which it is still technically at war, since China is a co-belligerent alongside North Korea in the ongoing Korean War, although hostilities ended in 1953. In December, Yoon drew fire from left-wing observers for asserting that Moon’s government was out of touch with young South Koreans, who “do not like China” and had no interest in friendly ties with the Communist Party.

“The current government used policies skewed toward China, but most South Korean people, especially younger ones, do not like China,” Yoon said. “This government used policies skewed toward China and tried to act as a middleman between the U.S. and China, but it ended up with bad relations.”

Democratic Party supporters and political observers compared Yoon to “a far-right YouTuber” and accused him of bigotry for the remarks. Lee described his comments as “low.”

“China is an important partner in security, economy and climate issues. How can Yoon, who so easily dismisses the relationship (with China), be in charge of South Korea’s diplomacy?” Kang Seon-ah, a Democratic Party spokesperson, said in a statement following the remarks.

Lee’s struggles as a candidate began long before his campaign, as the Democratic Party struggled to overcome the suicide of longtime perceived presidential candidate Park Won-soon, the mayor of Seoul, in July 2020. Park was found dead of an apparent suicide that month after being accused of sexual harassment. In April 2021, People Power Party candidate Oh Se-hoon won the election to replace Park, an ominous sign for the presidential race for Democrats.

Lee personally faced controversy as well, such as the allegations that his wife Kim had forced regional government officials to “run errands” for her while Lee was governor of Gyeonggi.

Lee also inspired some pushback after suggesting in January that the government should rethink a policy proposed under Moon to allow pop stars of extraordinary international caliber to avoid mandatory military service. All young men are legally required to serve in the military, but the members of K-pop superstar group BTS have sought to defer their stay in the military and received temporary extensions. Military service has resulted in the dissolution of several big-name pop acts prior to BTS, most notoriously the end of the group Big Bang, and politicians have argued that their outsized contribution to interest in Korean culture internationally should be considered alongside other exemptions currently in place, such as those for classical music and other traditional arts.

“Mandatory military service is a public duty set by the Constitution and we must be prudent about granting exceptions,” Lee said in January. “We can’t deny (BTS’) contribution to the nation, but we must be careful because it will be hard to draw the line if we expand (the scope of exceptions) like this.”

The presidential election ended on a dramatic note as a 70-year-old man identified only as a “YouTuber” attacked Lee’s campaign manager, Song Young-gil, with hammer blows to the head on Monday.

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