South Korea’s elections are under the shadow of martial law

The leading feature of this election was the leading candidate for Li Jay-Min, campaigning in the bulletproof vest.

At a recent rally, he was accompanied by close defense staff, ready to protect it with their ballistic short -term. He then turned to the crowd because of the non-permeable glass bullet, under the look of the roof observers.

This is not a South Korean policy as usual. But South Korea has not been recently.

It still resumes after the martial law crisis last December, when President Jonn Suka JOL tried to organize a military absorption.

He failed because of the resistance of the public and the politicians, and he was impeachment, causing this election to choose his successor.

But Chaos Jon opened that night.

While stuck in the suspended state, without the president, the country has become more polarized and its politics are more severe.

In the street actions earlier this year became commonplace to shoot different political leaders. And since the launch of its presidential application, Lee has been threatening death, and his team stated that she even revealed a reliable story for the assassination attempt.

This election is an opportunity to direct South Korea back to a safer, stable land and cure these fractures.

Considering this, the ruling party was always going to fight, marked by the presidential coup coup. But instead of breaking away from the former president, the Conservative people (PPP) party elected a candidate who repeatedly defended Juno and his actions.

Kim Moon-Sa, former Labor Minister Jono, was the only member of the Cabinet of Ministers who refused to speak and apologize during the parliamentary hearing of martial law. He said sorry only in his campaign after he won the public approval.

This turned the elections into a more martial referendum than anything else. Considering that most of the public predominantly rejected this step, he also practically gave way to the opposition leader Lee, who is known to live on a lively, scale the walls of the parliamentary complex to get inside and vote the president’s order.

Now the Democratic Party politician represents himself as a single candidate who can make sure it will never happen again. He stated that he would change the constitution to make more difficult for future presidents to declare martial law.

“We must prevent the return of the uprising,” called on the recent rally from the fortified glass.

Such promises have attracted to people from all over the political spectrum. “I did not like Lee before, but since I trusted martial law now and depend on it,” said the 59-year-old Su-Chun Park, who confessed that it was the first time she participated in a political event.

One man said in the 50s that he was a member of another smaller political party, but decided to return this time: “He is the only person who could end the uprising of the military legislation. We need to stop those who destroyed our democracy.”

Recent surveys put about 10 points ahead of his opponent Kim, but he was not always so popular. This is his second time he lost his president three years ago. He is a separate character who was involved in a number of court cases and political scandals. There are many who don’t trust him who hate him.

Kim, hoping to take advantage of this, called himself a “fair and just a candidate.” This is a slogan that its supporters have accepted, many seemingly supporting him not for his politics, but because he is not.

“I don’t like anyone, but at that moment there is no real choice. Another candidate has too much problems,” said one elderly woman who plans to vote for him.

Kim recorded an unusual political path. As a student who campaigned for the rights of the workers, he was tortured and imprisoned under the right dictatorship of South Korea in the 1980s, but then moved to the right.

He was chosen by a party base, many of which are still devoted to Yun. The party leadership, realizing that he was not the best choice, tried to replace it in the last minute more moderate, experienced politicians, only blocked by the members of the fierce.

This left the party weak and divided, and many suspect that after the voting on the day of voting, it breaks into rival factions. “Did we no longer invade?” Recently, one party insider told me that their face had fosey. “This is an unhappy company.”

“Choosing someone’s biggest mistake that the Conservative Party has made in this election, and they know that they should be held accountable for the decision,” said Chenmin Kim, Corea Pro, news and analysis.

Lee took this opportunity to take the voices of the centrist. He moved his policy to the right and even claimed that his left -wing party was actually conservative.

This is despite its reputation as an unwavering left. He grew up in a slum outside Seoul, working at factories, not attending school, and this is the one who previously quoted us to Senator Bernie Sanders.

But his previous promises went to make a universal basic income. This time it looks after the powerful conglomerate of South Korea, “Chaebols”. He even included a conservative color of red in his blue logo, and got into a company that wears red and blue coaches.

He also rebrands his foreign policy. Usually its Democratic Party is cautious about the Korean security alliance with the United States, preferring priority to China and North Korea.

But Lee considers himself a “pragmatist” that can adapt to the changing security environment. “The US Coore alliance is the basis of our national security. It must be strengthened and in-depth,” he said in a recent television discussion.

All this has left the voters and diplomats here who are not sure what he actually stands for, and what he will do if he is chosen – though it seems to be a meaning.

Ms. Kim, Korea Pro analyst, believes his makeup is more valid than may appear. “He was already high in the election, so he didn’t need to work a lot to win voices,” she said. “I think he plays a longer game. He wants to become a popular leader, a person who can trust more than half the country.”

The country’s unification will be the biggest problem for those who win.

When people vote on Tuesday, it will be six months before the day, as they took to the streets to withstand military absorption.

After a few months of chaos, they are desperately seeking to move forward, so the country may start solving pressing problems that have been on maintenance, including tariff talks with US President Donald Trump.

But most of all, they hope that this election can restore their own confidence in their democracy, which has faltered.

Last week, the baseball game in the capital is the only place where the Koreans are as tribal as in politics – both sides were united, aware of the importance of this election.

“I am really concerned about our democracy,” said Dylan, an engineer according to the data. “I hope we have the opportunity to keep it and make it bigger than before. My voice is power.”

“The next president should show people clearly and transparently what he is doing,” one person said in the mid-20’s. “We must watch him closely.”

If Lee wins and on the margin, it is supposed to have a solid mandate, as well as control over parliament, giving it three years to implement major political reforms.

This may be useful for restoring South Korea’s stability, but will come with its problems, said political analyst Ms. Kim.

“If Lee wins, he will have a lot of strength.