Outspoken lawmaker picked to lead South Korean opposition

Firebrand lawmaker Lee Jae-myung was elected to lead South Korea’s main opposition party on Sunday, months after his narrow presidential defeat to conservative opponent Yoon Suk Yeol left the liberals in disarray.
Lee’s dominant win in the Democratic Party chairperson’s race ends a monthslong leadership void for the liberals, who still control a majority in the Parliament.
It revives his rivalry with Yoon, a relative political novice who has seen his popularity decline since taking office in May amid a worsening economy, policy mishaps on education and other domestic issues, and mishandled Cabinet appointments.
Lee, who won nearly 78% of the votes from party members, was announced as the Democrats’ new chairperson in a convention held at a gymnastics stadium in the capital, Seoul. In his acceptance speech, Lee criticized the Yoon administration over what he described as failures to address the country’s stark economic inequalities, but also said he was willing to cooperate with Yoon and the ruling conservative party if “they take the right path for the people and country.”