On March 9, 2022, Koreans will be faced with a difficult choice, that of choosing the less unfavorable candidate between a former Governor and a former Prosecutor General. Polls on March 9 This blog post by Sook-Jong Lee is published by CFR. Here is an excerpt:

On March 9, South Korean voters will choose a president who will run the country for the next five years. Many voters view this election as choosing the less unfavorable candidate between former Governor Lee Jae-myung, the ruling Democratic Party (DP) candidate, and former Prosecutor-General Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party (PPP) candidate.^[1] Lee built his credentials through his administrative leadership as mayor of Seongnam city and later as governor of Gyeonggi Province. Yoon served the Moon Jae-in administration as a powerful chief of the prosecutor’s office but emerged as an icon of opposition after investigating charges made against President Moon’s inner circle. Both candidates are outsiders to party politics. Lee initially pushed for the introduction of a universal basic income and later the easing of housing-related taxes, proposals that have generated opposition or reluctance from his own party. Yoon, less prepared than Lee due to his lack of public policy experience, also proposed policies that were not well coordinated with his party. However, major policy differences between Lee and Yoon drew scant attention as their past personal records and family problems dominated the news outlets.

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