Do we like Lee Jae-myung?
Our score: 6 out of 10. Real record for workers and democracy, held back by a cautious, slow-walking approach to LGBTQ+ protections and legal questions still hanging over him.
Lee's origin story is the stuff of political legend. Born in 1964 into a poor farming family in Andong, he finished elementary school at 12 and went off to work in a Seongnam factory. Six years later he'd got his school diplomas through equivalency tests, won a scholarship to Chung-Ang University and become a labour rights lawyer. He then won the Seongnam mayoralty in 2010 and was re-elected in 2014.
The legal saga is the messy bit. He was convicted at first instance of making false statements before the 2022 election, getting a year in prison on two years' probation, then acquitted on appeal. In May 2025 the Supreme Court ruled 10-2 to overturn that acquittal and send it back. After he won the presidency, courts paused his trials under Article 84 of the Constitution, which protects a sitting president. Separate cases alleging favouritism in development projects, illegal donations to a football club and a remittance to North Korea are on hold too, and none has been decided against him.
On the harm check, Lee hasn't campaigned against anyone's rights, but his LGBTQ+ record is lukewarm. In 2021, three young protesters pushed him on the Anti-Discrimination Act and he smiled and asked “Is that all?”, which the Justice Party called cold. He told a Christian group the act needed a national consensus. As president he said in May 2025 it should be handled cautiously. His gender equality minister nominee pledged to make it a priority.
His 2026 headlines are mixed. In April he reposted a video on X alleging Israeli soldiers abused a Palestinian child. Israel's Foreign Ministry called his remarks unacceptable, while Lee said he was upholding universal human rights and called attempts to distort his words “treacherous”. Where you land depends on whether you read it as a human rights stand or as a trivialising comparison. Fact-checkers have also rated viral claims about him as out of context, including a doctored line about North Korea.
He also copped a stoush in April over a cabinet remark that Korea may have the world's highest number of people with criminal records. The opposition People Power Party called it fake news, while the Justice Ministry said its own figures backed him but didn't settle the question. It shows a president who fights back publicly, and who isn't always airtight on numbers.
The good stuff is real. As Seongnam mayor he became known for a welfare programme exclusive to the city. On the martial law anniversary in December 2025 he credited ordinary citizens with defending democracy, called for strict accountability, and said participants who truly reflect could be forgiven, though a cover-up would let it happen again.