Robert Besser
02 Jun 2025, 11:14 GMT+10
SEOUL, South Korea: On May 30, South Korea's leading left-wing presidential candidate, Lee Jae-myung, said he wants to change the Constitution to make it harder to declare martial law so that political crises like last year's do not happen again.
As the country prepares for the snap presidential election on June 3, Lee and his Democratic Party urged people to vote and help end the ongoing political crisis. This crisis began after former conservative president Yoon Suk Yeol briefly declared martial law in December.
"Our country's image has suffered, and something like this must not be allowed to happen again," Lee said on a YouTube talk show. He added that fixing this issue is essential and also listed economic growth and national unity as key goals.
Lee said he would try to change the Constitution so that martial law cannot be used without parliament's approval within 24 hours.
More people have been voting early. By noon on May 30, 25.8 percent of eligible voters had already voted — the highest early turnout seen at this stage in past elections.
Lee also said a special prosecutor should investigate the December martial law incident to punish those responsible. However, he asked for leniency for military officers who resisted following the orders.
Yoon Yeo-jun, who leads the Democratic Party's campaign, said the vote is a chance to correct the country's course and ensure the "Yoon Suk Yeol tragedy" doesn't happen again.
Meanwhile, Kim Moon-soo, Lee's primary opponent from the conservative People Power Party, said he would stop what he called the "legislative dictatorship" of Lee's party, which currently controls the parliament.
Get a daily dose of Illinois Intelligencer news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Illinois Intelligencer.
More InformationSYDNEY, NSW, Australia - A major international operation targeting online sextortion has resulted in the arrest of 22 suspects in Nigeria,...
Washington DC [US], June 2 (ANI): Six people sustained injuries in Boulder, Colorado in the United States after a man attacked and...
Hong Kong, June 2 (ANI): China, which did not send its top-drawer delegation to this year's edition of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore,...
BEIJING, June 2 (Xinhua) -- The United States has seriously undermined the consensus reached during the China-U.S. economic and trade...
(250602) -- MEXICO CITY, June 2, 2025 (Xinhua) -- Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum (2nd L) casts her vote during the judicial election...
Slovakia opposes EU's plan to end Russian energy imports: PM Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Sunday that his government...
SEOUL, South Korea: On May 30, South Korea's leading left-wing presidential candidate, Lee Jae-myung, said he wants to change the Constitution...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: U.S. federal officials are looking into an attempt by someone who pretended to be White House Chief of Staff Susie...
SEATTLE, Washington: Amazon has struck a significant deal with The New York Times to license its journalism for use in AI tools like...
SEOUL, South Korea: Lee Jae-myung, a liberal South Korean politician, is leading in the polls ahead of the June 3 snap presidential...
GENEVA, Switzerland: A massive glacier collapse in the Swiss Alps sent a torrent of ice, mud, and rock crashing into the evacuated...
ANKARA, Turkey: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said this week that he has appointed a group of legal experts to begin drafting...
