South Korea: Moon’s Electoral “Report Card” Amidst the Coronavirus Outbreak

On 15 April, South Korea heads to the polls to elect the 300 members of the National Assembly, the country’s unicameral national legislature. This is a key moment for President Moon Jae-in, as he needs his Democratic Party to win a working majority to avoid becoming a lame duck in the second half of his term. Moon has already been struggling to implement the long-awaited economic reforms and break the current stalemate in relations with North Korea: the coronavirus outbreak now risks to loom large on voters’ minds. Against this backdrop, how does Moon’s presidency rate so far? To what extent will the government’s handling of the COVID-19 emergency shape the election outcome?

 

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