S. Korea vote: Who will run Asia's 4th largest economy?

Since US President Donald Trump began his second term, key Asian ally South Korea has not had an elected leader — meaning crucially, no one to bargain with Washington on tariffs.

- Hieun Shin, Agence France-Presse

With the country now set to vote in a presidential election on June 3, the new leader will need to juggle finding ways to stay out of Trump's trade wars with keeping both Washington—Seoul's main security partner against the nuclear-armed North — and neighbouring Beijing happy. There are two main contenders for the top job: front-runner ex-opposition leader Lee Jae-myung and conservative Kim Moon-soo.

Lee, a charismatic former child factory worker turned human rights lawyer, has been dubbed "South Korea's Bernie Sanders” for his strong support of a basic income, advocating measures like direct cash payments to spur economic growth. But he’s been dogged by a string of scandals, although a court recently delayed a retrial which could have derailed his bid for office. Kim was once a labour and pro-democracy activist fighting military authoritarian regimes, but he shifted his views after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Kim is solidly in second, trailing Lee by 22 percent, according to the most recent Gallup poll.