From Factory Worker to President: The Unlikely Rise of South Korea's Lee Jae Myung

Countries & Cities · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Born into poverty and disabled by industrial accidents as a child laborer, Lee Jae Myung rose from a factory floor to the presidency of South Korea. His political career, marked by bold municipal reforms and a dramatic defiance of martial law, reflects a lifelong commitment to his philosophy of suppressing the strong.

Lee Jae Myung’s path to the Blue House began in the industrial city of Seongnam, where his family relocated after losing their savings in Andong. Denied a formal middle school education, Lee worked in factories, suffering permanent arm damage from industrial machinery. These hardships fueled his political philosophy, eokgangbuyak, which advocates for curbing the excesses of the powerful to support the vulnerable. After earning law degrees through equivalency exams and scholarships, he transitioned from a human rights lawyer to a local activist, eventually entering politics after a frustrating struggle to establish a municipal hospital.

As mayor of Seongnam from 2010 to 2018, Lee gained a reputation for confrontational, results-oriented governance. He famously converted luxury mayoral offices into public spaces, implemented youth dividends, and banned dog meat sales at Moran Market. His tenure as governor of Gyeonggi Province further solidified his national profile, particularly through his aggressive management of the COVID-19 pandemic, which included mandatory testing for foreign workers and confrontations with uncooperative religious groups. Despite his successes, his career has been punctuated by controversy, including criminal allegations he maintains are politically motivated.

Lee’s political trajectory reached a climax in 2024. After surviving a stabbing attack in January, he became the face of the opposition during the martial law crisis. When President Yoon Suk Yeol attempted to bypass the National Assembly, Lee livestreamed himself scaling the building's fence to convene the legislature, a move that proved pivotal in the subsequent impeachment of the president. Following Yoon’s removal by the Constitutional Court in April 2025, Lee won the snap presidential election in June. He now leads a nation grappling with economic anxiety, a low birth rate, and complex geopolitical tensions between the United States, China, and North Korea.

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