Lee Jae Myung

Born poor in Andong, Lee skipped middle school to work in a Seongnam factory, where an accident disabled him. He earned equivalency diplomas, graduated from Chung-Ang University with a law degree in 1986, and became a human rights and labor lawyer. He entered politics in 2005, lost several races, then won mayor of Seongnam in 2010 and again in 2014. After losing the 2017 DPK presidential nomination to Moon Jae-in, he resigned as mayor in 2018 to run for governor of Gyeonggi Province - won, and served until 2021. He secured the DPK's 2022 presidential nomination but narrowly lost to Yoon Suk Yeol. In January 2024 he survived an assassination attempt; in November he was convicted under the Public Official Election Act for falsely denying a link to a former Seongnam official during his campaign. When Yoon declared martial law in late 2024, Lee climbed the National Assembly fence and livestreamed it, then helped lead Yoon's impeachment and removal. He launched a third presidential bid in 2025, won the nomination, and defeated Kim Moon-soo to become South Korea's 14th president.