South Korea’s presidential hopefuls made a final push for votes yesterday, with the left-leaning candidate a clear favorite, as North Korea assailed the outgoing conservative government one day before the polls.
A former pro-democracy advocate and human rights lawyer, South Korean Democratic Party presidential candidate Moon Jae-in — who favors engagement with Pyongyang — has been leading opinion polls for months.
The final Gallup Korea survey of the campaign gave him 38 percent of the vote, far ahead of centrist South Korean presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo, on 20 percent.
Photo: AP
Today’s vote was called to choose a successor to former South Korean president Park Geun-hye after her impeachment for corruption and abuse of power.
The campaign has focused largely on jobs and the economy, with North Korea less prominent.
Moon has promised to reinvigorate the South’s sluggish growth and create more jobs and hinted at a more flexible approach towards its nuclear-armed neighbor.
The front-runner advocates dialogue and reconciliation with the North to defuse the situation and eventually lure it into negotiations that have been at a standstill for years — an approach criticized by his conservative opponents.
Pyongyang yesterday slammed the South’s conservatives — who have been in power for a decade — as “senseless traitors seeking only confrontation and war,” who were responsible for the “tragic” state of North-South relations.
An editorial in the Rodong Sinmun — the mouthpiece of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party of Korea — acknowledged that an election was taking place and said conservatives were scheming to retain power.
Moon — who lost to Park in the last election in 2012 — has benefited electorally from the anger over the scandal that brought her down, which saw millions of South Koreans taking to the streets in candlelit demonstrations to demand her removal.
Ahead of a packed day of last-minute rallies across the country, Moon asked voters to deliver him a hefty mandate.
“With landslide support with tens of thousands of votes, a miraculous change like a natural cataclysm is possible,” he said at his campaign headquarters in Seoul. “I will work as the people’s president from the day I am selected by the people.”
Ahn similarly vowed to “head straight to work at the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae” if he wins and address urgent issues regarding the country’s security, diplomacy and economy.
In December last year, Moon said that if elected, he was willing to visit North Korea ahead of the US, the South’s security guarantor with 28,500 troops based in the country.
The comments were seized on by opponents who accuse him of being soft on nuclear-armed Pyongyang.
He sought to backtrack, saying he meant defusing tensions was an issue of utmost urgency and he would meet US President Donald Trump before any other leaders.
Hong, from Park’s Liberty Korea party — who placed level with Ahn in some surveys last week, the last ones available under South Korean law — said security would top the agenda if he won.
“Tomorrow is judgement day for the pro-North, leftist forces,” Hong said. “Please help me win by a landslide so it’s impossible for them to pick a fight.”
A high turnout is expected — even more than the last vote’s 75.8 percent — with more than 25 percent of South Koreans already having voted in early ballots last week.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft