- Spanish great Iniesta leaves indelible legacy after retirement
- Indian Kashmir elects first regional government in a decade
- Hong Kong stocks crash, oil prices retreat on fading China boost
- Man City accuse Premier League of 'misleading' claims after legal case
- Duo wins Physics Nobel for key breakthroughs in AI
- Agha defies England as Pakistan post 515-8 in first Test
- September second-warmest on record: EU climate monitor
- Pastor wanted by US for sex trafficking to run for Philippine senate
- Mozambican writer Mia Couto dreams future leaders set an 'example'
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free soon after cleared of separate sex crimes
- China says to take anti-dumping measures against EU brandy imports
- German suspect in 'Maddie' case cleared in separate sex crimes trial
- Israel expands offensive against Hezbollah in south Lebanon
- China stocks rally fizzles on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- Bangladesh's Yunus says no elections before reforms
- England strike twice as Pakistan reach 397-6 at lunch in first Test
- China stocks rally peters out on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- Taiwan's Foxconn says building world's largest 'superchip' plant
- Kenya's deputy president faces impeachment vote
- N. Korean soldiers 'highly likely' killed in Ukraine: Seoul
- 'Appeals Centre' to referee EU social media disputes
- US Supreme Court to hear 'ghost guns' regulation case
- 'Small' oil leaks detected in Samoa after NZ navy shipwreck
- Nobel literature jury may go for non-Western writer
- At Istanbul church, blessed spring offers hope to Christians and Muslims
- From Bolivia to Indonesia, deforestation continues apace
- Myanmar to send rep to regional summit for first time in three years
- Prabowo set to lead bolder Indonesia on world stage
- Tampa zoo rushes Chompers the porcupine and others to safety as Milton nears
- Shanghai stocks pare early surge on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- New Japan PM to hold talks on ASEAN sidelines
- Record number of climbers chase 14-peak dream in Tibet
- Former South Korea clinic for US 'comfort women' to be demolished
- China holds off on fresh stimulus but 'confident' will hit growth target
- Chiefs battle past Saints to stay unbeaten
- Deal on climate aid hangs in balance at UN COP29 summit
- Royals hit back against Yankees, Tigers maul Guardians
- German suspect in 'Maddie' case faces verdict in sex crimes trial
- Top economic official 'confident' China will hit 2024 growth target
- COP29 fight looms over climate funds for developing world
- Shanghai stocks soar to extend stimulus rally amid Asia-wide drop
- Australia moves to expand Antarctic marine park
- Tragedy of Madrid street sweeper highlights how heatwaves kill
- Survivors wait for aid as Trump's lies help cloud Helene response
- Fleeing Israeli bombs, Lebanon's displaced met with suspicion
- Jila Mossaed, from refugee poet to Swedish Academy
- Will Tesla's robotaxi reveal live up to hype?
- Drugs, people smuggling at heart of Mexico's raging violence
- 'Invisibility' and quantum computing tipped for physics Nobel
- Musk says he is 'all in' on Trump in US election
RIO | -0.11% | 69.62 | $ | |
BTI | -0.26% | 35.2 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.53% | 24.57 | $ | |
SCS | -0.15% | 12.95 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.09% | 24.79 | $ | |
BP | 0.78% | 33.14 | $ | |
BCE | -0.54% | 33.53 | $ | |
GSK | -0.49% | 38.63 | $ | |
BCC | 1.68% | 141.27 | $ | |
RBGPF | 100% | 60.52 | $ | |
NGG | -1.56% | 65.48 | $ | |
RELX | -0.54% | 46.04 | $ | |
AZN | -0.78% | 76.87 | $ | |
JRI | -0.76% | 13.18 | $ | |
RYCEF | -0.15% | 6.87 | $ | |
VOD | 0.31% | 9.69 | $ |
Anti-feminist or foul-mouthed liberal? South Korea to pick new president
South Korea will elect a new president Wednesday and voters face a stark choice: a feminist-bashing conservative or a scandal-plagued liberal? So far, it's a dead heat.
The two frontrunners, dour former prosecutor Yoon Suk-yeol of the People Power party and the incumbent Democratic party's maverick ex-governor Lee Jae-myung are trapped in a neck-and-neck race to become the next leader of Asia's fourth largest economy.
And what propels one of them to victory will not be their populist campaign promises or North Korea policy, analysts say. Instead, it's what the papers have dubbed a "cycle of revenge" in South Korea's famously adversarial politics.
"This election is a battle between two opposite forces -- the progressives and conservatives," said political analyst Park Sang-byoung.
South Korean presidents are allowed by law to serve a single five year term, and every living former president has been investigated and jailed for corruption after leaving office.
Outgoing President Moon Jae-in himself swept to power in 2017 after his disgraced predecessor Park Geun-hye was impeached over an influence-peddling scandal that also put a Samsung heir behind bars.
Now, Park's conservatives are eager for revenge.
Ironically, their candidate Yoon was chief prosecutor under Moon and pursued Park when she was impeached -- an experience that boosted his profile and popularity and pushed him to enter politics.
- Realpolitik -
South Korean politics has seen a "deepening division" in recent years, with elections more focused on party rivalry than policy, analyst Yoo Jung-hoon told AFP.
"Many conservatives still hold a grudge over the impeachment of Park Geun-hye," he said.
Yoon is appealing to these disgruntled voters, offering a chance at "revenge" for Park's ousting -- even going so far as to threaten to investigate Moon for unspecified "irregularities".
"We should do it," Yoon said last month, referring to prosecuting Moon and his administration.
His comments earned a rare rebuke from the presidential Blue House and the ruling Democratic party's candidate Lee said they indicated his rival was not fit to lead the nation.
But analysts say it's just political business as usual in Seoul.
"The Moon administration has prosecuted many former officials in the name of rooting out deep-rooted corruption," Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University.
"I expect the same standard to be applied under the Yoon government should wrongdoings be found," he said.
Yoon's wife in January gave an unwitting insight into the realpolitik to come, claiming enemies and critics would be prosecuted if her husband won because that's "the nature of power," according to taped comments released after a court battle.
- Where's the policy? -
Polls show that voters' top concerns this election cycle are skyrocketing house prices in the capital Seoul, stagnant growth, and stubborn youth unemployment -- but campaigning has been dominated by mud-slinging.
Lee, a former mayor and provincial governor, has a slew of fresh policy offerings -- from universal basic income to free school uniforms -- but they've been overshadowed by media coverage of his scandals.
He is being scrutinised over a suspect land development deal, with two key witnesses to the case having killed themselves.
He was forced to start his campaign by apologising for a profanity-laden family phone call, his wife was accused of misappropriating public funds, and he's been dogged by rumours of mafia-links.
His rival Yoon has himself made a series of gaffes, most recently having to delete a "tone deaf" tweet on Ukraine which included a tangerine with an angry face drawn on -- a bizarre reference to that country's Orange Revolution.
Moreover, Yoon's most memorable policy is an offer to abolish the gender equality ministry, on the basis that -- despite voluminous data to the contrary -- South Korean women do not suffer "systemic gender discrimination," he says.
Yoon is more hawkish than Lee on North Korea, threatening a pre-emptive strike on the South's nuclear-armed neighbour if needed.
But, despite a record-breaking seven weapons tests in a month in January, North Korea is not a major deciding factor in the vote, analysts say.
"The North's launches have minimal impact in elections because South Korea's competition for supremacy with the North is long over," said analyst Yoo.
"South Korean elections have revolved around political rivalry rather than policy issues for many years."
D.Kaufman--AMWN