South Koreans rally for presidential hopefuls days before vote

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Seoul, South Korea | AFP

Thousands of supporters of South Korea's two leading presidential candidates rallied in Seoul on Saturday, three days before a vote triggered by the ex-leader's disastrous declaration of martial law.

Tuesday's election caps months of political turmoil sparked by Yoon Suk Yeol's brief suspension of civilian rule in December, for which he was impeached and removed from office.

All major polls have put liberal Lee Jae-myung well ahead in the presidential race, with a recent Gallup survey showing 49 per cent of respondents viewed him as the best candidate.

Kim Moon-soo, from the conservative People Power Party (PPP) that Yoon left this month, trailed Lee on 35 per cent.

Organisers from both camps told police they expected tens of thousands of supporters to rally in Seoul on Saturday.

In Seocho, in the south of the capital, Lee supporters gathered holding signs condemning Yoon's "insurrection".

"I believe the outcome of the presidential election is already decided," Lee Kyung-joon, a Lee supporter, told AFP.

"I came to today's rally to help condemn the forces involved in the martial law attempt," he said, referring to ex-president Yoon's political allies.

Yoon is on trial for insurrection, and Kwon Oh-hyeok, one of the organisers of Saturday's rally, said a Lee Jae-myung victory in Tuesday's vote was crucial to holding him accountable.

"Isn't the People Power Party's decision to run in the snap election -- triggered by Yoon's removal from office -- an insult and a betrayal of the people?" Kwon told rally participants.

"Fellow citizens, we must win by a landslide to deliver the justice this moment demands."

In Gwanghwamun Square on the other side of town, conservatives -- including supporters of disgraced ex-leader Yoon -- filled the streets holding signs that read "Yoon Again" and "Early voting is invalid!"

Yoon's martial law attempt, which he claimed was necessary to "root out" pro–North Korean, "anti-state" forces, emboldened a wave of extreme supporters, including far-right YouTubers and radical religious figures.

Many have spread unverified content online, including allegations of Chinese espionage and fraud within South Korea's electoral system.

That sentiment was on full display at Saturday's conservative rally, where protesters called for the dissolution of the National Election Commission over a series of mishaps during the two-day early voting period this week.

"People believe the root of all these problems lies with the National Election Commission, and that it should be held accountable," protester Rhee Kang-san told AFP.

Ex-president Yoon sent a message to the conservative rally through a group led by a far-right Christian figure, which was read aloud by a supporter on his behalf.

"Our country is now facing a grave and unprecedented crisis," Yoon's message said, urging people to vote for the PPP candidate Kim.

"If we miss this opportunity, we may have to pay a heavy price in time and sacrifice, and the restoration of free democracy and a normal state may no longer be possible," the former president said, according to supporter Lee Dong-ho, who read the message aloud and shared it with AFP.

Deepening polarisation

Both frontrunner Lee Jae-myung of the liberal Democratic Party and conservative challenger Kim have cast the race as a battle for the soul of the country.

(FILES) Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate for South Korea's Democratic Party, speaks to the press after casting his early vote for the upcoming presidential election at a nearby polling station in Seoul on May 29, 2025. (AFP)

More than a third of those eligible cast their ballots in early voting on Thursday and Friday, according to the election commission.

Overseas voting reached a record high, with nearly four-fifths of the 1.97 million eligible voters casting their ballots last week.

Experts say that, regardless of who wins, South Korea's polarisation is likely to deepen.

If Lee wins, the conservatives "will do whatever it takes to undermine him and his government, whether their logic makes sense or not", political analyst Park Sang-byung told AFP.

"Unless the PPP distances itself from Yoon's extremist base, it could turn to misinformation -- such as unfounded claims of election fraud -- to mobilise the right against Lee. That's a troubling prospect," he said.

Whoever succeeds Yoon will also have to grapple with a worsening economic downturn, one of the world's lowest birth rates, the soaring cost of living and bellicose neighbour North Korea.

He will also have to navigate a mounting superpower standoff between the United States, South Korea's traditional security guarantor, and China, its largest trade partner.