Lee After Casting Early Vote: "A National Crisis Can Be Overcome Through Voting"

Lee Casts Early Vote at Sinchon Station with Four Young Voters
"Early Voting Helps Distribute Time Better than Main Voting"

On the first day of early voting for the 6·3 presidential election, Lee Jae Myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, stated, "There is a saying that voting is stronger than bullets," and emphasized, "A national crisis can only be overcome through the participation of the people in voting."

Lee Jae Myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, is casting an early vote for the 21st presidential election together with young people at the polling station in Sinchon-dong Community Center, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul on May 29, 2025. Photo by Kim Hyun Min

On the morning of the 29th, after casting his ballot together with four young people at an early voting station in the Sinchon area of Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, Lee met with reporters and said, "I voted with the hope that, together with our youth, Korea can return to an era for young people, and that this presidential election will be the starting point." Dressed in a black suit and dress shirt, Lee arrived at the early voting station, shook hands and chatted with the young people who would vote with him, and then entered the polling place together.

Lee encouraged voter turnout by saying, "Everyone has their own circumstances, but participating in early voting as much as possible will help distribute your time more efficiently," and added, "Since you never know what might happen on the main voting day, it might be better to vote early."

Lee stressed that, if elected, he would take the lead in restoring the people's livelihoods and the economy. He said, "The top priority should be to recover the deteriorating livelihoods of the people," and added, "In addition, diplomatic efforts to resolve trade issues should also begin urgently."

He also mentioned that an additional budget of 30 trillion won would be necessary to revive the people's livelihoods and the economy. Lee said, "I believe fiscal spending to boost domestic demand will be the largest," and explained, "It will be necessary to adjust budget items that are lower in priority within the existing budget, either by changing priorities or by adding new budget items." He added, "Because the fiscal needs are significant, issuing government bonds may need to be considered, but adjusting the current budget is the top priority."

When asked about criticism that voters had insufficient time to assess policy pledges due to the release of the campaign manifesto only the day before early voting, Lee responded, "That is a valid point," but also explained, "Normally, presidential elections are held over five to six months, but this time, the period is only two months, or in reality, just 50 days." Lee said, "Since I had already prepared plans for national governance, I hope the public will understand that I am at least able to present these pledges now," and added, "There are even candidates who cannot present any pledges at all."

Regarding participation in international events such as the G7 summit, Lee said, "There is so little time that I will have to limit myself to only the most important international events, and I will need to review which specific events to attend." On the format of the inauguration ceremony, he said, "It would be desirable to keep it as brief and simple as possible."

Meanwhile, on the same morning, Lee's spouse, Kim Hye Kyung, also cast her early vote at the Choryang 2-dong Community Center in Dong-gu, Busan.