Lee Jae-myung Becomes South Korea's President After a Life Shaped by Poverty and Political Upheaval

A Former Factory Worker Takes Power After a Constitutional Crisis

Lee Jae-myung has become South Korea's 21st president after a snap election triggered by the removal of former President Yoon Suk-yeol. His victory brings a former child factory worker and human rights lawyer to the highest office in one of Asia's most advanced democracies, with promises of economic revival, stronger welfare support and political reconciliation.

Lee's Democratic Party won decisively in the 2025 election after Yoon's attempt to impose martial law in December 2024 led to his impeachment and removal. With voter turnout reaching a record of nearly 80%, the result was seen as a rebuke of authoritarianism and a demand to restore democratic government.

Lee takes office with his party controlling both the presidency and the legislature. That gives him an opportunity to turn campaign promises into policy, but also places responsibility on him to exercise power with restraint in a deeply divided country.

His personal history helps explain his priorities. Poverty interrupted his education, a factory accident permanently disabled his left arm, and years of legal and political work brought him into conflict with established interests. He now faces the challenge of translating that experience into policies for an entire nation.

How Poverty Shaped His Early Life

Lee was born in 1963 in Andong, a rural city, and was the fifth of seven children. His family struggled to survive, and economic hardship pushed him into factory work while he was still young.

A workplace accident left his left arm permanently disabled. He also missed years of formal schooling. His route into higher education depended on earning a high school equivalency qualification, which allowed him to continue studying despite that interrupted education.

Lee won a scholarship to Chung-Ang University and passed the bar exam in 1986. He became a human rights lawyer, representing marginalized people and fighting corruption in local government. His journey from factory work to law gave him a way to challenge the conditions and decisions affecting people with little money or influence.

Those experiences remain central to his political outlook. His support for welfare rests on the idea that hardship should not shut people out of education, security or opportunity. For Lee, public assistance is part of giving people a chance to recover from circumstances they cannot manage alone.

Local Office, Electoral Defeat and a Return to Power

Lee's political career began in earnest in 2010, when he was elected mayor of Seongnam, a city known for civic activism. He later became governor of Gyeonggi Province, South Korea's most populous region.

His work in those offices brought national recognition, particularly for his welfare policies and his response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Local and provincial government also became places where he put his social policies into practice, often against resistance from the political establishment.

Lee's path to the presidency included major setbacks. He lost the 2022 presidential election by less than one percentage point and survived an assassination attempt in 2024. He continued his political career and eventually led the Democratic Party to victory in the 2025 snap election.

The main stages of his rise and the crisis that preceded his victory were:

• 1963: Lee was born in Andong, the fifth of seven children.
• 1986: He passed the bar exam after overcoming an interrupted education.
• 2010: He was elected mayor of Seongnam.
• 2022: He lost the presidential election by less than one percentage point.
• 2024: He survived an assassination attempt.
• December 2024: Yoon attempted to impose martial law, leading to impeachment and removal.
• 2025: Lee led the Democratic Party to a decisive victory in the snap presidential election.

A Promise to Replace Confrontation With Reconciliation

Yoon's attempt to impose martial law brought South Korea into a constitutional crisis. Lee played a prominent role in resisting it, livestreaming himself climbing the National Assembly fence to help overturn the measure.

The election that followed became a contest over democratic restoration as well as the country's economic direction. Lee campaigned on economic revival, social integration and pragmatic government, offering a message of hope and reform despite his legal challenges and polarizing reputation.

In his inauguration speech, President Lee set out the change he wanted in political life. He pledged to replace:

hatred and confrontation with coexistence, reconciliation, and solidarity

Lee also promised to build a society in which all citizens could thrive. That commitment now faces a practical test: whether a politician known for challenging opponents can bring people together while pursuing changes that many of those opponents resist.

Welfare as a Route to Opportunity

Lee has consistently supported policies aimed at vulnerable people, including universal basic income, free school uniforms and expanded public healthcare. Universal basic income means giving people a regular payment without making support depend on their employment status or income.

As mayor and governor, he introduced welfare programs that drew resistance from established political interests. His approach presents social support as a way to create opportunities for everyone, rather than as a struggle between economic classes.

Lee has expressed that outlook through two short descriptions of poverty and public protection. He has said:

poverty is not a sin

He has also described the protection society should provide for people in need as a:

thick safety mat

The image connects his personal experience with his policy agenda. A safety mat cushions a fall; in his political argument, welfare should give people protection when hardship strikes and help them regain their footing.

Economic Revival With Room to Adapt

Lee's economic proposals include major investment in artificial intelligence, a shorter workweek and tax incentives for families. Together, they address how the economy produces wealth, how much time people spend working and the financial pressures households face.

His political approach combines progressive goals with a willingness to adjust policies to changing circumstances and public opinion. Pragmatism, in this context, means choosing policies according to whether they can work under current conditions, rather than treating every earlier position as fixed.

Lee's direct communication and readiness to challenge established practices have brought him passionate supporters and fierce critics. Supporters see a politician prepared to confront obstacles to reform. Critics regard his style as abrasive and question his willingness to challenge established norms.

Economic revival and social integration are therefore connected parts of his agenda. He must pursue material improvements while trying to reduce the confrontation that has shaped political life. His party's legislative control gives him room to act, but public acceptance will also depend on how he governs.

Balancing Washington, Beijing and Regional Security

South Korea's security alliance with the United States and its deep economic relationship with China place Lee between two powerful partners whose rivalry is intensifying. China is South Korea's largest trading partner, while Washington is central to its security.

Lee has pledged to maintain strong relations with the United States. Describing the place of the US-South Korea alliance in national security, he called it the:

backbone

He also wants to repair strained relations with China and pursue a balanced, pragmatic approach to diplomacy. His stated priority is the national interest rather than automatic alignment based on political ideology. In practical terms, that means weighing security and economic needs together when deciding how to deal with other countries.

Lee has promised to strengthen cooperation among South Korea, the United States and Japan. At the same time, he wants to keep communication channels open with North Korea and seek peaceful solutions to regional tensions.

North Korea's deepening ties with Russia add another complication. Lee must manage relations with Washington and Beijing while responding to a regional security environment shaped by those ties and the widening competition between the United States and China.

Legal Uncertainty and the Responsibility of Power

Lee enters the presidency facing ongoing legal battles, including allegations connected to a land development scandal and alleged false statements during his previous presidential campaign. His cases involve alleged corruption and election law violations.

South Korean presidents are generally immune from prosecution while in office, but uncertainty surrounding Lee's legal position continues. No timetable for resolving that uncertainty is given.

His outsider status and confrontational style also make him a polarizing leader. The same readiness to challenge established interests that helped build his support has contributed to criticism that he is too abrasive and too willing to disrupt accepted political practices.

Control of the executive and legislative branches gives the Democratic Party a rare opportunity to implement its agenda. The presidency controls government administration, while the legislature makes laws. Holding both allows Lee's party to pursue changes across those responsibilities, bringing questions of restraint and consensus directly into the task of governing.

South Korea's ability to heal its divisions will depend partly on whether Lee can use that authority while making room for disagreement. Abroad, his attempt to balance security alliances, trade relationships and regional diplomacy will be closely watched as an example of how a country between larger powers manages competing demands.

Key Points

• Lee Jae-myung became South Korea's 21st president after the Democratic Party's decisive victory in the 2025 snap election.
• The election followed Yoon Suk-yeol's December 2024 attempt to impose martial law, his impeachment and his removal from office.
• Lee's childhood poverty, factory injury and work as a human rights lawyer helped shape his welfare priorities.
• His agenda includes social support, investment in artificial intelligence, a shorter workweek and tax incentives for families.
• He seeks strong US ties, improved relations with China, cooperation with Japan and continued communication with North Korea.
• Ongoing legal cases and deep political divisions accompany the opportunity created by his party's control of the presidency and legislature.