Name: Lee Jae-myung (Korean alphabet: 이재명 – Chinese characters: 李 在 明)
Nationality: South Korean
Date of birth: December 22, 1964
Role: Former civil rights attorney, Governor of Gyeonggi Province and presidential candidate
Lee Jae-myung was born in Andong, a town in the northern Gyeongsang province, from a family of humble origins; he graduated in law from Chung-Ang University in 1986 and immediately began his career as a lawyer. In 2005 he joined the then ruling party, which in 2007 would merge with the “New Democratic Party” to create the current “Democratic Party”.
In 2010 he was elected mayor of Seongnam, a town in Gyeonggi, but in close contact with Seoul; position for which he was re-elected in 2014. In 2018 he became Governor of this province, resigning in 2021 to compete as President of the Republic.
As soon as he announced his candidacy, polls gave him about ten percentage points from the Conservative candidate, Attorney General Yoon Suk-yeol. Still, the gap narrowed significantly in the months leading up to the election date. Currently, the gap is just a few percentage points, almost corresponding to the polls’ margin of error.
As can be seen from his personal internet page, his position in the international field wants to be marked by a sort of “pragmatic diplomacy”, citing: “beyond ideology and forced choices, putting the interests of our nation “. As far as China is concerned, he would seem to want to take a more unbalanced position concerning his current party mate, outgoing president, materializing in anti-Chinese statements. Even about Japan, he declared that he did not define a stance a priori but according to the circumstances.
