Lee Jae-myung
Lee Jae-myung became President of South Korea in June 2025, elected in a snap contest after his predecessor was removed. Born in Andong in 1964 into a very poor family, he did not attend middle or high school; he worked in factories from about twelve, and an industrial press permanently damaged his left arm, which left him with a disability that exempted him from military service. He passed the school equivalency examinations by studying at night, won a scholarship to Chung-Ang University, and passed the bar in 1986. He practised as a labour and human rights lawyer in Seongnam for two decades. He was elected mayor of Seongnam in 2010 and governor of Gyeonggi, the country's most populous province, in 2018. His signature policies were universal rather than means-tested benefits — a youth dividend paid to all twenty-four-year-olds, free school uniforms, and postpartum care — and he became the leading advocate of a basic income. He lost the 2022 presidential election to Yoon Suk-yeol by about 0.7 per cent, the narrowest margin in the country's democratic history, then won a parliamentary seat and the leadership of the Democratic Party. He was stabbed in the neck at a press event in Busan in January 2024 and survived. In December 2024 Yoon declared martial law. Lee live-streamed himself climbing the fence of the National Assembly to get inside and vote to lift it, which the legislature did within hours. Yoon was impeached and removed in April 2025. Lee won the election that followed with about forty-nine per cent, and has faced several ongoing criminal trials.
- Lived: 1963 CE – ?
- Nationality: South Korean
- Roles: President of South Korea (2025-present)
