South Korea Elects Youngest Opposition Leader In Modern Times

Sumaira FH Published June 11, 2021 | 05:03 PM

A 36-year old politician, Lee Jun-seok was elected on Friday as the leader of the main opposition party, People Power Party (PPP), becoming the youngest opposition leader in South Korea, Yonhap news agency reported

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th June, 2021) A 36-year old politician, Lee Jun-seok was elected on Friday as the leader of the main opposition party, People Power Party (PPP), becoming the youngest opposition leader in South Korea, Yonhap news agency reported.

According to the report, the young Harvard graduate defeated four reputable senior rivals, including two former party floor leaders, Na Kyung-won and Rep. Ju Ho-young, to emerge as the youngest-ever politician to pilot a major political party in the country.

Lee's victory serves as a warning shot to his conservative party, PPP, and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, as it may trigger a shift in public opinion ahead of the presidential election in March 2022.

A Democratic Party official, who requested anonymity, was quoted as saying that "the so-called 86 groups (who were born in the 1960s, went to college in the 1980s and led the country's pro-democracy movement) were only preoccupied with safeguarding their vested rights as seen in the 'Cho Kuk' scandal.

" He added, "Now, the DP lost its lead in innovation to the PPP."

In the "Cho Kuk" scandal, the former justice minister was alleged to have forged academic documents to get his daughter admitted to a medical school.� This was seen as a significant reason behind young voters' disgruntlement with the ruling party.

Following the announcement of Lee's win, President Moon Jae-in congratulated him for having "achieved a great feat," the media reported.