Photo: Lee Jae-myung at an economic round table. Credit: Democratic Party of Korea.
The day before the presidential election, the National Assembly 국회 called a special session to begin on June 5, likely anticipating a Lee Jae-myung 이재명 victory. With a liberal president at the helm, the legislature is likely to push through bills that were rejected by the veto-happy Yoon Suk-yeol 윤석열 administration, starting with measures intended to assist South Korea’s ailing economy.
On the campaign trail, Lee has pledged that he would pass the formerly vetoed amendment to the Commercial Act 상법 to strengthen shareholder rights “within two or three weeks of taking office.” The amendment would have imposed a fiduciary duty to shareholders upon corporate directors, paving the way for expanded shareholder activism. Then-acting president Han Deok-su 한덕수 당시 대통령 권한대행 vetoed the bill on April 1 after chaebol 재벌 groups objected.
Lee is also likely to push for a large economic stimulus in the form of a supplemental budget of around KRW 35t (USD 25.4b). To boost domestic demand, the stimulus is likely to take the form of vouchers for local businesses, one of Lee’s signature policies during his time as governor of Gyeonggi-do Province 경기도 도지사. In addition, Lee has said he would prioritize a meeting with United States president Donald Trump to re-negotiate punitive tariffs on South Korean exports.
