South Korea post-presidential election review: Key takeaways

Article tags North AsiaPoliticsSouth Korea

By Rodrigo González, Tokyo Director

As we close another eventful week in the global arena, we have just held the event “South Korea Post-Presidential Election Review: What next for the world’s 10th largest economy?” For those who missed it, here are some key takeaways:

• The dramatically close results of the presidential election (<1% margin) are a first for South Korea’s democratic history. Despite the high voter turnout (+77%), Korean and foreign analysts are concerned about the implications of a clearly divided base, especially among young men and women.
• The war in Ukraine will have important economic repercussions for South Korea. Not only will Koreans face higher commodity and energy prices arising from the conflict, but some of the largest Korean companies (e.g. Hyundai) have a powerful market and manufacturing presence in Russia.
• President-elect Yoon has surrounded himself with highly IT-capable people. It is likely that strong investment into digitalisation, cryptocurrency and green growth will be at the top of the new government’s agenda.
• While Mr Yoon is relatively new to politics, his party has a long tradition of openness to foreign policy and international cooperation. Yoon’s conservative government might seek to improve historic differences with Tokyo, while strengthening the U.S.-South Korea alliance.

We very much look forward to having our members join us for future EICN events in Seoul.

Event speakers

	Sohn Jie-ae Professor, Graduate School of International Studies at Ewha Womans University
	Fei Xue Asia Analyst at EIU
	Lena Schipper Seoul bureau chief Seoul, South Korea at The Economist
	Andrijana Cvetkovikj Director, North Asia of EICN
	Jacco Zwetsloot Network Moderator, Seoul at EICN

Thu, 17th Mar 2022 Article tags North AsiaPoliticsSouth Korea