Lee Jae-myung assumes the South Korean presidency and promises to govern “for all”

Seoul.- The new South Korean president, Lee Jae-myung, officially began his five-year term this Wednesday after the Asian country’s National Election Commission confirmed his victory in Tuesday’s presidential elections.

Lee assumed the presidency of South Korea at 6:21 local time (21:21 GMT Tuesday) after the confirmation of his victory at the polls by the electoral body in a plenary session.

Belonging to the until now opposition Democratic Party (DP), the liberal Lee assumes the position immediately, without the usual transition period, after early elections due to the removal of former President Yoon Suk-yeol for his failed attempt to establish martial law in the country at the end of last year.

Lee made this statement during his address to the nation following his inauguration as the 21st President of Korea, held at 11:00 a.m. in the National Assembly, in the Yeongdeungpo-gu district of Seoul.

The new Korean leader proposed five major guidelines for his administration: “a country where the people govern”; “a country of constant growth and development”; “a country where everyone lives well”; “a country in which culture flourishes”; and “a safe and peaceful country.”

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As a priority, the president emphasized the need to recover the population’s livelihood and revitalize the economy: “I will immediately launch an emergency economic response team” and added: “I will reactivate the virtuous cycle of the economy through the national budget.”

In terms of diplomacy and security, he stated: “I will strengthen trilateral cooperation with the United States and Japan, based on our strong bilateral alliance with the United States, and I will manage relations with neighboring countries from a perspective of national interest and pragmatism.”

With 80% of the ballots counted, the liberal politician of the Democratic Party (DP), Lee Jae-myung, became today the new president of South Korea after the serious political crisis triggered by the martial law of last December.