A political scientist assessed Lee Jae-myung's chances in the presidential elections in South Korea

Opposition politician Lee Jae-myung, who has announced his intention to run for president of South Korea, is ahead of his rivals in terms of popular support by a wide margin and has the best chance of winning early elections. Konstantin Asmolov, a leading researcher at the Institute of China and Modern Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Izvestia on April 11.

He recalled that Lee Jae-myung is still involved in four criminal cases. The politician was suspected of corruption, perjury, and abuse of power. He can run for president, as the court of appeal overturned the verdict of the court of first instance, which some called a legal miracle.

"If the supreme Court does not overturn the decision of the court of Appeal or Lee Jae-myung is not given another guilty verdict, and the judges, of course, are now thinking whether to hurry or not, then he has the best chance. And he is ahead of all his opponents, both in the conservative and democratic camps, by a very wide margin," the expert explained.

He also recalled that five key witnesses in one of the cases of an opposition politician had already committed suicide or died of natural causes on the eve of interrogations, while the police had not been able to establish any connection between the incident.

To leave and not return: The Constitutional Court of Korea approved the impeachment of the president

The country is waiting for early elections, the opposition has the highest chances.

According to Asmolov, Lee Jae-myung used to position himself as a leftist populist, but now we are witnessing the process of "dressing up." Now the politician defiantly attends events dedicated to the confrontation with North Korea, suggests nominating American President Donald Trump for the Nobel Prize, and says that in fact the Democratic party is centrist and even center—right.

According to him, there is hope that, at least within the framework of the logic of factional struggle, Lee Jae-myung will choose a policy opposite to the course of the ousted president Yun Seok-young.

"Many people think that the conservative (Yoon Seok). — Ed.) removed, it means the Democrats will come, the course will be more pro-Russian or more pro-Chinese. Personally, I'm afraid not," the political scientist concluded.

The Constitutional Court of South Korea approved the impeachment of the country's president on April 4. Han Dok-soo was appointed acting head of state. The presidential elections are to be held within 60 days. The elections are expected to be held on June 3.

The situation in South Korea escalated on December 3 last year after the president declared martial law, which was caused by the threat of paralysis of power that arose due to attempts to conduct impeachment proceedings. The head of state was arrested for 48 hours on January 15, 2025. On January 19, the president was taken into custody. His supporters staged a pogrom in the courthouse after the verdict was announced. The arrest warrant for Yoon Seok-young was lifted by the court on March 6.