South Korea’s new President Lee Jae-myung has pledged to “heal wounds” after months of political and economic turmoil across the country and to reopen dialogue with North Korea in his first speech after taking office following a landslide win at the polls.
Lee, who hails from the liberal Democratic Party of Korea, replaces ousted President Yoon Suk-yeol, who last year triggered a national emergency when he briefly imposed martial law, citing antistate forces and North Korean infiltration.
After taking the oath of office at parliament on Wednesday, Lee pledged to help South Korea reverse course following months of uncertainty and political protest.
South Korea has also found itself under attack from the United States, a top economic and security ally, where trade protectionism is on the rise under President Donald Trump.
“A Lee Jae-myung government will be a pragmatic pro-market government,” Lee said in a speech.
Lee said he would try to make headway in South Korea’s relations with Pyongyang, working to “deter North Korean nuclear and military provocations while opening communication channels and pursuing dialogue and cooperation to build peace on the Korean Peninsula”.
“We will heal the wounds of division and war and establish a future of peace and prosperity,” he said.
“No matter how costly, peace is better than war,” he added.
Lee also warned that “rising protectionism and supply chain restructuring” posed a threat to South Korea’s export-driven economy, and said he would address cost-of-living concerns facing middle- and low-income families.
South Korea’s caretaker government, which ruled after Yoon’s ouster, failed to negotiate a trade deal with the Trump administration to cut down proposed tariffs on imports from the country.
Trump’s 25 percent “Liberation Day” tariffs on South Korea – aimed at addressing the US trade imbalance – are currently on pause pending negotiations, but South Korean exporters were hit with a new 50 percent tariff on steel and aluminium products.
Lee won this week’s snap election with 49.4 percent of the vote, well ahead of conservative candidate Kim Moon-soo, as South Korean voters turned out in the highest numbers since 1997.
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