Mick Hartley

Out goes Moon, in comes Yoon. Interesting times ahead in Korea, as the South Koreans – by a very narrow margin – elect a hardliner as their new president:

A conservative former prosecutor who has threatened pre-emptive strikes against North Korea has been elected president of South Korea by the narrowest of margins, bringing to an end five years of liberal government.

Yoon Suk-yeol edged ahead of his liberal rival Lee Jae-myung at the end of a tense night of vote-counting, with the two leading candidates neck and neck all the way.

The result is likely to add to tensions with North Korea, which has been test-firing ballistic missiles at regular intervals and shows signs of restoring its nuclear test site. It will mean an end to the policy of engagement pursued by President Moon, who brought together Kim Jong-un and President Trump and held three meetings of his own with the North Korean leader.

And what a waste of time that was. Poor Moon was still vilified by North Korea, and achieved precisely nothing. What level of abuse, I wonder, will be hurled from the North at this new president?

In his public utterances, Yoon, 61, has taken a stern and uncompromising line towards Kim, placing the emphasis on protecting against North Korean aggression rather than seeking out common ground. He has proposed introducing a controversial American missile defence shield and supported the idea of pre-emptive strikes on North Korean missile sites.

He has been accused of divisiveness in his efforts to profit politically from the rancorous gender wars that have divided South Korean society, appealing to an anti-feminist movement among young men who believe that they are unfairly stigmatised.

He promised to abolish the ministry for gender equality, denying that South Korean women face systemic discrimination despite plentiful evidence of inequalities of opportunity, representation and income. The exit polls suggest that this ploy was unsuccessful in attracting large numbers of men, while undoubtedly alienating many women.

Hmm. 

He is broadly a supporter of business and an opponent of state interference. In the tradition of South Korean conservatives, he believes in a strong relationship with the country’s ally and protector, the United States. He is likely to have cooler relations with China, which opposes the US missile shield. He has also promised to soothe diplomatic tensions with Japan.

The build-up to the election was marked by ill-tempered reproach among the political rivals and Yoon attracted mockery for his stiff, prosecutorial manner. He has had to play down reports that he takes advice from shamans, after an incident during a debate for the presidential nomination.

The Chinese character for king could clearly be seen on his left palm: his aides insisted it had been written there by a supporter and that he had simply failed to scrub it off. But scrutiny of two previous television debates showed he had the same mark on his hand then. Later he also had to deny associating with an “anal acupuncturist”.

An anal acupuncturist?? Doesn't bear thinking about.

South Korea's Chosun Ilbo was unimpressed:

The campaign was an "election of the unfavorables" as the two leading candidates remained neck and neck while they slung mud at each other over various scandals while the big questions remained unanswered.