The elections in South Korea are carried out under the shadow of martial law

The striking feature of these elections was the leading candidate for opposition Lee Ja-Mung, who was involved in a bulletproof vest.

At a recent rally, he was accompanied to the podium of close -up staff, ready to protect him with their ballistic briefcases. He then turned to the crowd from behind from Bullet Propen, under the gaze of roof observers.

This is not South Korean politics as usual. But South Korea is not in itself.

He is still recovering from the martial law crisis last December, when President Ion Suk Youol tried to organize military absorption.

He failed due to public resistance and politicians and was hindered, triggering these click choices to choose his heir.

But the chaos John unleashed that night.

While stuck in the limbs without a president, the country has become more polished and its policy is more powerful.

In the street protests this year, it became common to chant different political leaders to be fulfilled. And after starting his presidential offer, Lee receives threats of death, and his team tells him that they have even revealed a credible plot to kill him.

These elections are an opportunity to head to South Korea back to a more favorable, stable land and to cure these fractures.

Given this, the ruling party would always fight, darkened by President Youn’s self -worthy coup. But instead of breaking away from the disgraced ex -president, the Party of Conservative People (PPP) has elected a candidate who repeatedly defends Ion and his actions.

Kim Moon-su, the former Ion Labor Minister, was the only member of the cabinet to refuse to stand up and apologize during a parliamentary hearing in the martial law. He said I only regret well in his campaign after winning the public approval of Ion.

This made the election a more referendum on martial law than anything else. Given that the bigger part of the public largely rejected this move, he also practically gilds the way to the opposition leader Lee, who in a certain way he lived, scale the walls of the Parliament complex to enter the president’s order.

Now the Democratic Party politician presents himself as the only candidate who can guarantee that this never happens again. He said he would change the constitution to make it difficult for future presidents to declare martial law.

“We need to prevent the rebellion from returning,” Lee voters called at his recent rear -stock rally.

Such promises have been drawn from people from all over the political spectrum. “I didn’t like Lee before, but after the military situation, I now trust and depend on him,” said the 59-year-old Su-Jung Park, who admitted that this was the first time she attended a political event.

A man of his 50s said he was a member of another smaller political party, but this time he decided to support Lee: “He is the only person who can terminate the uprising of Ion of military law. We must stop those who have destroyed our democracy.”

The most polls put Lee about 10 points in front of his rival Kim, but he was not always as popular. This is his second time for president after being lost to Ion three years ago. It is a separation character that has been involved in a series of lawsuits and political scandals. There are many who do not believe him, who even hate him.

Kim, hoping to take advantage of this, has marked the Fair and a Fair Candidate. This is a slogan that his supporters have accepted, many of them at first glance support him not because of his policies, but because he is not Lee.

“I don’t like Kim, but there is no real choice at that moment. The other candidate has too many problems,” said an elderly woman who plans to vote for him.

Kim has drawn an unusual political path. As a student fighting for workers’ rights, he was tormented and closed under the right dictatorship of South Korea in the 1980s, but then moved sharply to the right.

He was selected from the party base, many of which are still loyal to Ion. The party leadership, realizing that it is not the best choice, tried to replace it at the last moment with a more comprehensive, experienced politician, just to be blocked by fierce members.

This left the party weak and divided, with many suspected that it would disperse into competitive factions after the day of the vote. “Haven’t we already implanted?” A party insider told me recently, their face crushed in their hands. “This is an unhappy campaign.”

“The choice of Kim is the biggest mistake that the Conservative Party has made in these elections and they know this. They will have to be held accountable for this decision,” said Jongmine Kim, CEO of Korea Pro, based at Seoul News and Analysis.

Lee took advantage of this opportunity to collect centrist votes. He has shifted his policies to the right and even claims that his left party is actually conservative.

This, despite his reputation as an unwavering leftist. He grew up in a poor man outside Seoul, working in factories rather than attending school, and is someone who has previously cited US Senator Bernie Sanders.

But his previous promises have disappeared to introduce a universal basic income. This time he courts the powerful conglomerate of South Korea, Chabols. He even included the conservative color red in his own blue logo and hits the campaign path, wearing red and blue coaches.

He has also re -enlarge his foreign policy. Usually, his Democratic Party is cautious from the Korea Union with the United States, prefering to prioritize relations with China and North Korea.

But Lee is thrown as a “pragmatist” who can adapt to the changing security environment. “The US-Korea Alliance is the backbone of our national security. It must be strengthened and in-depth,” he said in a recent television debate.

All this leaves the voters and diplomats here, who are not sure about what he really stands for, and what he will do if he is chosen – though that seems to be the question.

D -Ja Kim, an analyst of Korea Pro, thinks his makeup is more true than he can appear. “He was already high in the ballot box, so he didn’t need to work hard to win votes,” she said. “I think he plays a longer game. He wants to be a popular leader, someone who can be trusted by more than half of the country.”

The unification of the country will be the biggest challenge for anyone who wins.

When people vote on Tuesday, it will take six months until the day, as they took to the street to oppose military absorption.

After months of chaos, they are desperately moving forward, so the country can begin to deal with retention issues, including tariff negotiations with US President Donald Trump.

But more than anything they hope that these elections can restore their own confidence in their democracy, which is very shaken.

On a baseball game in the capital Seoul last week – perhaps the only place where the Koreans are as tribal as politics – both sides were united, consciously aware of the importance of these elections.

“I am really concerned about our democracy,” said Dylan, an engineer according to data. “I hope we have the power to save him and make him greater than before. My vote is part of power.”

“The next president must show clearly and transparent people what he is doing,” said a man in the mid-1920s. “We have to watch it carefully.”

If Lee is going to win a poll margin suggests that he will have a solid term as well as parliamentary control, giving him three years to apply major political reforms.

This may be good for restoring South Korea’s stability, but it will come with its own challenges, said political analyst D -Kim.

“If Lee wins, he will have a lot of power.