According to the director of the Institute for Eurasian Strategic Studies, Lee Jae-myung will take measures to restore relations with Russia, which suffered after the start of the Ukrainian conflict

SEOUL, June 3. /TASS/. The candidate from the Democratic Party "Toburo" Lee Jae-myung, who won the presidential election in South Korea, is likely to change his approach to relations with Russia. This opinion was expressed in an interview with a TASS correspondent by the director of the Institute of Eurasian Strategic Studies, former minister of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Moscow, Park Byong-hwan.

"Judging by what he said, his approach to Russia and China will be significantly different from the course of former President Yoon Suk-yeol. It seems that he will take measures to restore relations with Russia, which suffered after the start of the war in Ukraine," the expert said. During the election campaign, Lee Jae-myung repeatedly said that the Republic of Korea should maintain relations with the Russian Federation, avoiding "unnecessary hostility."

Park Byong-hwan also recalled Lee Jae-myung's interest in the Northern Sea Route. The analyst also suggested that the participation of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the APEC summit in Gyeongju in the fall of 2025 could be a good reason to discuss bilateral relations between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Korea. "Although he calls relations with Russia important, if you look realistically, the issue of lifting sanctions against Russia will be resolved with an eye to progress in negotiations to end the war in Ukraine and trends in relations between the Russian Federation and the United States," the expert concluded.

According to the results of processing 99.7% of the ballots, the former head of Toburo, Lee Jae-myung, gains 49.3% of the vote, his opponent Kim Moon-so receives about 41% and has already admitted defeat.

Relations with the DPRK

The former minister of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Moscow expressed doubts that relations between the Republic of Korea and the DPRK could be quickly improved. Earlier, the leader of the DPRK, Kim Jong-un, proposed to consolidate the status of South Korea as the main enemy. "The new government will deal with urgent economic problems as a matter of priority, such as the deterioration of the situation in international trade and the economic downturn within the country," the expert suggests. According to him, the summit of the South and the North will become possible when "the conditions are ripe" for this.

At a rally after the polls closed, Lee Jae-myung said that peace on the Korean Peninsula "without the need to fight is better than to win the fight."