Presidential candidates make final campaign efforts as early voting begins

Home > National > 2025 Presidential Election

Presidential candidates make final campaign efforts as early voting begins

Published: 29 May. 2025, 19:56 Updated: 29 May. 2025, 20:00

LEE SOO-JUNG
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Lee Jae-myung, presidential candidate of the liberal Democratic Party, center, campaigns in front of Seoul Express Bus Terminal in Seocho District, southern Seoul on May 29. [NEWS1]

Presidential hopefuls underscored their key campaign messages as they launched their final campaigning efforts ahead of the June 3 election as early voting began Thursday, focusing their campaigning effort in the greater Seoul area.

All three major contenders, Lee Jae-myung of the liberal Democratic Party (DP), Kim Moon-soo of the conservative People Power Party (PPP) and Lee Jun-seok of the minor Reform Party, cast their ballots on the first day of early voting.

The DP's Lee Jae-myung focused on bringing an end to "insurrection," while Kim Moon-soo of the PPP vowed to protect freedom and upkeep geopolitical security as they toured the capital area, which holds 50 percent of 44.39 million eligible voters nationwide.

The DP's Lee participated in early voting with four people in their early 20s at a polling station in Seodaemun District in western Seoul, a neighborhood with several universities and considerable youth populations. The DP told reporters that Lee’s move signifies his willingness to build a society "where youth could dream" for their future.

After casting his ballot, Lee told the reporters that “voting is stronger than bullets.” Lee added that "election is the only means to overcome insurrection," referring to the martial law declaration by ousted conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol on Dec. 3.

Lee Jae-myung, presidential candidate of the liberal Democratic Party, second from right, participates in early voting with young adults at a community center in Seodaemun District in western Seoul on May 29. [DEMOCRATIC PARTY]

Later, Lee met with young entrepreneurs and continued campaigning in eastern and southern Seoul, specifically in front of Jamsil Baseball Stadium and a public square near Seoul Express Bus Terminal.

Lee emphasized the political background of the ongoing election, seemingly emphasizing his legitimacy as an opposition figure to the former Yoon administration.

"The meaning of this presidential election, as we know evidently, is to overcome insurrection and restore Korea," Lee said during his campaign in the afternoon.

He also said his promise to raise the Korea Composite Stock Price Index to the 5,000-mark — currently at around 2,700 — is “realistically possible” in a YouTube video on Thursday afternoon. His remarks appeared to be a strategy to win over some 14 million individual investors in the Korean stock market.

Kim Moon-soo, presidential candidate of the conservative People Power Party, left, participates in early voting with his daughter at a community center in Gyeyang District in Incheon on May 29. [LIM HYUN-DONG]

Conservative candidate Kim also cast his ballot with his daughter in Incheon’s Gyeyang District, a constituency represented by the DP's Lee.

After the voting, Kim rallied in Incheon and the nearby cities of Siheung, Ansan, Gunpo and Anyang in Gyeonggi.

Kim focused on geopolitical security and its impact on the economy. During his campaigning in Incheon, he likened the presence of the U.S. troops in Korea to a “bastion of peace,” adding that their withdrawal would jeopardize Korean security and economy altogether.

Kim Moon-soo, presidential candidate of the conservative People Power Party, raises his arms during campaign in Gunpo, Gyeonggi on May 29. [LIM HYUN-DONG]

“Our reliable friend who guarantees safe investment [to Korea] is the United States,” Kim said. “Maintaining a strong and solid Korea-U.S. alliance affects the economy, business, labor and income.”

Kim also outlined his promise to grant more administrative authority to local governments for balanced regional development, adding that “Korea’s direction to a decentralized system should be stated in the Constitution.”

Lee Jun-seok, presidential candidate from the minor Reform Party, participates in early voting at a community center in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi on May 29. [NEWS1]

Lee Jun-seok of the Reform Party, who trails behind the DP’s Lee and the PPP’s Kim in approval ratings, participated in early voting in his electoral district in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi.

Later in the day, he vowed to “invest his scientific mindset to make Korea a country leading in technology” during his campaigning in Pangyo, Gyeonggi, an IT and tech company cluster zone.

Lee also castigated his competitors by calling them "politicians who are preoccupied with political offenses against each other." He positioned himself as a candidate who would utilize the creativity and innovation available in Pangyo.

Lee said he expected that support for him would increase as he believes there would be “more future-oriented voters in this election.”

This comes as a campaign merger between the PPP's Kim and Lee Jun-seok, look slim, setting the stage for a three-way race next Tuesday.

On Wednesday, the Reform Party's Lee reiterated that he had “never considered a merged candidacy."

BY LEE SOO-JUNG [[email protected]]