The newly appointed president of South Korea, Lee Jae-myung, has expressed his commitment to "heal the wounds" by contacting the nuclear-armed North Korea. South Korea's new center-left leader has also warned that "increasing protectionism and restructuring of supply chains" pose an existential threat to Asia's export-dependent fourth-largest economy.
In the mid-term elections, Lee defeated Kim Moon-soo, leader of the Conservative Party, the former party of former president Eun Suk-yeol. In the election, Lee received 49.4 percent of the votes, while his nearest competitor, Kim, received 41.2 percent of the votes.
Kim has attributed his defeat to internal strife in the party and a third-party candidate splitting the right-wing vote. Soon after his election, Lee spoke with South Korea's top military commander and formally assumed operational leadership of the country's armed forces on Wednesday. He also urged top military commanders to maintain "readiness" against Pyongyang's provocations.
He said, "We will heal the wounds of division and war and establish a future of peace and prosperity". "Peace is better than war at any cost." He said that he would open communication channels for peace on the North Korean Peninsula and stop North Korea's nuclear and military provocations while promoting dialogue and cooperation.
Lee took office just hours before the tariffs were announced as the US prepares to impose 50 percent tariffs on South Korea's vital steel and aluminum exports. "Rapid changes in the world order, such as increasing protectionism and restructuring of supply chains, threaten our very existence," Lee said.
South Korea's stock market and currency have shown a positive reaction to the election results. On Wednesday, the main stock market KOSPI and the Korean currency saw higher gains.
A significant departure
Hong Min, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said Lee's comments on North Korea were a "significant departure" from those of his predecessor Yun. Hong told AFP, ``It signals his willingness to resolve differences through dialogue.'' It remains to be seen how Pyongyang will react, but he says Lee has shown a different approach to North Korea.
Lee has held a general opening ceremony at the National Assembly (House of Representatives), where he deployed the armed forces the night Yun tried to suspend civilian rule. In contrast to the regularly scheduled post-election large gatherings or events, Wednesday's inauguration ceremony was sparsely attended.
After the oath of office and secrecy, he will discuss with those close to him, focusing on who will be appointed as the Chief of Staff of the Office of the President, the Prime Minister and the Director of the National Intelligence Service . A flurry of congratulatory phone calls from world leaders is expected later today, with Trump likely to be first in line . Chinese President Xi Jinping and US Secretary of State Marco Rubia expressed their happiness about his election.
Marco Rubio, Trump's top diplomat, said in a statement that Washington's alliance with Seoul was "strong", citing "shared values and deep economic ties". Lee's party already has a parliamentary majority, meaning he will be safe and able to carry out his legislative agenda for the next three years .
