Who is Lee Jae-myung?
Lee jae-myung as a teenager working at a factory / Courtesy of Lee Jae-myung camp from 2022 presidential election
By Kim Bo-eunPublished May 10, 2025 2:35 pm KST
Updated May 10, 2025 5:18 pm KST
From poor factory worker to heavyweight politician
Editor’s note
This is the first of a series of profiles of Korea's presidential candidates.
Controversial, stubborn, tenacious are some adjectives that can be associated with Lee Jae-myung, 61, who will be competing for the third time, in South Korea's June 3 presidential election.
Leading the polls with a wide margin, Lee is a heavyweight politician with the liberal Democratic Party of Korea, having served as the former party leader, as well as governor of Gyeonggi Province and mayor of Seongnam City.
The presidential candidate is embroiled in multiple criminal trials, including one in which he is charged with violating the Election Law.
Born in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, as the fifth child out of seven, he grew up in poor circumstances. He often skipped elementary school because he had to walk 5 kilometers to get there.
Lee moved to Seongnam as a teenager, but had to give up school to earn money, alongside his mother and sister who cleaned toilets. He worked at multiple factories, and his wrist was crushed in an industrial accident at one of them. This later exempted him from mandatory military service.
He substituted his missed school years with equivalency exams and studied law at Chung-Ang University with a scholarship. Lee passed the state bar exam in 1986, and became a human rights laywer and activist.
He entered the political arena in 2005, when he joined the predecessor of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), and has stayed within the party's boundaries ever since.
His failed in his first election for Seongnam mayor in 2006, but was elected in 2010 and 2014. He started earning recognition for welfare policies such as city-funded school uniforms and a universal basic income.
Lee was a DPK contender for the 2017 presidential election, but lost the party candidacy to Moon Jae-in, who ended up becoming president. Lee was elected governor of Gyeonggi Province the following year.
Lee ran again in the 2022 presidential election as the DPK's candidate but lost by a narrow margin to Yoon Suk Yeol. He became a lawmaker representing an electoral district in the city of Incheon later that year in a local government election.
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Kim Bo-eun
Bo-eun leads the digital content team. She has covered foreign affairs, North Korea, tech, economy and gender issues at The Korea Times. She did a short stint at the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, where she obtained a new perspective on news production and life. Small sources of joy for her are lounging in the sun, having a good latte and swimming.
bkim@koreatimes.co.kr
Popular Comments
David 18h ago
Are citizens really sure they want a President who previously tried to commit suicide by hunger strike? That demonstrates mental imbalance, not a quality of any President.
2like count
Foolslive 15h ago
Hunger strike? Stale comment on a ridiculous Korean political ritual. Look at PPP politicians now, pathetically protesting against each other and, actually, against themselves! - BTW, you often recognize people by their haters...
1like count
Banpo
13h ago
I remember when he required all foreigners, only foreigners, to be tested for COVID within a few days or lose their jobs. I’m assuming future articles will be honest about how controversial this political figure is. My biggest question is why so many people in the Republic of Korea are supporting him.
0
By Kim Bo-eunPublished May 10, 2025 2:35 pm KST
Updated May 10, 2025 5:18 pm KST
From poor factory worker to heavyweight politician
Editor’s note
This is the first of a series of profiles of Korea's presidential candidates.
Controversial, stubborn, tenacious are some adjectives that can be associated with Lee Jae-myung, 61, who will be competing for the third time, in South Korea's June 3 presidential election.
Leading the polls with a wide margin, Lee is a heavyweight politician with the liberal Democratic Party of Korea, having served as the former party leader, as well as governor of Gyeonggi Province and mayor of Seongnam City.
The presidential candidate is embroiled in multiple criminal trials, including one in which he is charged with violating the Election Law.
Born in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, as the fifth child out of seven, he grew up in poor circumstances. He often skipped elementary school because he had to walk 5 kilometers to get there.
Lee moved to Seongnam as a teenager, but had to give up school to earn money, alongside his mother and sister who cleaned toilets. He worked at multiple factories, and his wrist was crushed in an industrial accident at one of them. This later exempted him from mandatory military service.
He substituted his missed school years with equivalency exams and studied law at Chung-Ang University with a scholarship. Lee passed the state bar exam in 1986, and became a human rights laywer and activist.
He entered the political arena in 2005, when he joined the predecessor of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), and has stayed within the party's boundaries ever since.
His failed in his first election for Seongnam mayor in 2006, but was elected in 2010 and 2014. He started earning recognition for welfare policies such as city-funded school uniforms and a universal basic income.
Lee was a DPK contender for the 2017 presidential election, but lost the party candidacy to Moon Jae-in, who ended up becoming president. Lee was elected governor of Gyeonggi Province the following year.
Lee ran again in the 2022 presidential election as the DPK's candidate but lost by a narrow margin to Yoon Suk Yeol. He became a lawmaker representing an electoral district in the city of Incheon later that year in a local government election.
presidential electionFollow
democratic party of koreaFollow
lee jae-myungFollow
open sharebookmark
Kim Bo-eun
Bo-eun leads the digital content team. She has covered foreign affairs, North Korea, tech, economy and gender issues at The Korea Times. She did a short stint at the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong, where she obtained a new perspective on news production and life. Small sources of joy for her are lounging in the sun, having a good latte and swimming.
bkim@koreatimes.co.kr
Popular Comments
David 18h ago
Are citizens really sure they want a President who previously tried to commit suicide by hunger strike? That demonstrates mental imbalance, not a quality of any President.
2like count
Foolslive 15h ago
Hunger strike? Stale comment on a ridiculous Korean political ritual. Look at PPP politicians now, pathetically protesting against each other and, actually, against themselves! - BTW, you often recognize people by their haters...
1like count
Banpo
13h ago
I remember when he required all foreigners, only foreigners, to be tested for COVID within a few days or lose their jobs. I’m assuming future articles will be honest about how controversial this political figure is. My biggest question is why so many people in the Republic of Korea are supporting him.
0
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