International News
Polls Show South Korea’s Lee On Track To Win Presidency By Landslide
Centre-left candidate Lee Jae-myung is projected to win South Korea’s presidential election by a landslide after months of political chaos, exit polls showed Tuesday, with turnout the highest in nearly three decades.
Six months to the day after ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol plunged the country into crisis with his disastrous declaration of martial law, an exit poll by South Korea’s three major broadcasters showed Lee of the left-leaning Democratic Party with 51.7 percent of the vote.
Challenger Kim Moon-soo of the conservative People Power Party (PPP) was on track to win 39.3 percent, the poll showed.
Hundreds of Lee’s supporters broke into cheers outside the National Assembly, as party officials watching from inside the parliament started a chant of “Lee Jae-myung” as the exit poll results were announced.
For weeks, major polls had put Lee well ahead of Kim — Yoon’s labour minister — who struggled with party infighting and failed to convince a third party candidate to unify and avoid splitting the right-wing vote.
After months of turmoil and a revolving door of lame-duck acting leaders, many South Koreans said they were eager for the country to move forward.
“I hope the next president will create an atmosphere of peace and unity rather than ideological warfare,” cab driver Choi Sung-wook, 68, told AFP as he cast his ballot.
Noh Min-young, 20, who has been protesting in the streets since Yoon declared martial law, told AFP she was “relieved” at the exit poll projection.
“It’s been a tough road. I’m happy because it feels like we’ve seized the opportunity that so many people fought for over the past six months.”
South Korea’s next leader will take office almost immediately — as soon as the National Election Commission finishes counting the votes and validates the result, likely early Wednesday.
He will face a bulging in-tray, including global trade vicissitudes chafing the export-driven economy, some of the world’s lowest birth rates and an emboldened North Korea rapidly expanding its military arsenal.
‘Turning point’
But the fallout from Yoon’s martial law declaration, which has left South Korea effectively leaderless for the first months of US President Donald Trump’s tumultuous second term, was the decisive factor in the election, experts said.
The vote was “largely viewed as a referendum on the previous administration,” Kang Joo-hyun, a political science professor at Sookmyung Women’s University, told AFP.
Yoon’s impeachment over his martial law bid, which saw armed soldiers deployed to parliament, made him the second straight conservative president to be stripped of office after Park Geun-hye in 2017.
“Lee’s victory signals that the Korean public rejects illiberal and undemocratic measures such as martial law,” Gi-Wook Shin, a sociology professor at Stanford University, told AFP.
“This moment will likely be remembered as a peculiar and consequential turning point in South Korea’s political history.”
But Lee’s success is due as much to his rivals’ failings as his own strengths, said Minseon Ku, a postdoctoral researcher at the William & Mary Global Research Institute.
“Lee has a criminal record and was involved in several political and personal scandals, which made him deeply unpopular among many voters in the 2022 presidential election,” Ku said, referring to Lee’s unsuccessful run for top office, when he lost to Yoon by a narrow margin.
His rise to the presidency is “a reflection of the deep political turmoil South Korea has been experiencing”.
South Korean presidents serve a single five-year term.
High turnout
Turnout in the June 3 poll was high, running at around 77.8 percent by late afternoon, officials said — the highest in nearly two decades.
Ballot counting stations swung into action after polls closed at 8:00 pm (1100 GMT), AFP reporters saw, with boxes of ballots arriving at the Seoul National University Gymnasium in Gwanak-gu district.
On election day, Seoul streets were peaceful as people made the most of good weather and a public holiday, but police issued the highest level of alert and deployed thousands of officers to ensure the election and inauguration Wednesday proceed smoothly.
Lee — who survived an assassination attempt last year — has been campaigning in a bullet-proof vest and delivering speeches behind a glass protective shield.
With Lee’s projected victory, the country’s left wing Democratic Party has “strengthened their hold on moderately conservative urban men and women in their 30-40s”, Vladimir Tikhonov, Korean Studies professor at the University of Oslo, told AFP.
These voters “just want some normalcy and gradual improvement of the welfare system”, he said.
“Yoon’s coup attempt scared these people, and for the time being they are not going to return to the PPP.”
International News
Nottingham Forest Sacks 5th Manager In 10 Months, To Wrap Up Oliver Glasner’s Deal
Oliver Glasner is in advanced talks to replace Vitor Pereira as Nottingham Forest head coach, a move which would see the Austrian become the club’s fifth manager in less than a year.
Pereira announced his departure from the club in a statement on Wednesday, saying that it came as a “complete surprise to me and without any warning”.
Glasner is a free agent after leaving Crystal Palace — where he won the FA Cup in 2024-25 and then the Community Shield and Conference League the following campaign — and is set to stay in the Premier League.
The 51-year-old confirmed in January that he would leave Palace at the end of the season after two years in charge.
On Thursday, Forest confirmed Pereira’s coaching staff Filipe Almeida, Luis Miguel, Bruno Moura, Marco Knoop and Pedro Lopes had all left the club alongside the head coach.
Pereira, 57, was appointed Forest head coach in February on an 18-month contract which runs until 2027.
The Athletic reported in May Forest had been planning to show their faith in Pereira by handing the head coach a new long-term contract, but those talks were subsequently put on hold.
“Today marks the end of my journey as head coach of Nottingham Forest,” he said in his statement.
“I want to say a sincere thank you to everyone connected with this incredible football club. Although this decision came as a complete surprise to me and without any warning, I fully respect the club’s right to make the decisions it believes are best for its future.
“Naturally, I am disappointed and saddened. I truly believed in what we were building together, and I leave with a sense of pride in everything we achieved over the past months.
“Together, we enjoyed a memorable end to the season. We secured the club’s Premier League status, reached the semi-finals of the Europa League, and created moments that will stay with me forever. Most importantly, I saw a group of players grow in confidence, belief and togetherness.
“I leave Nottingham Forest with no bitterness or resentment—only respect, gratitude and wonderful memories. Football is full of unexpected moments, and while this chapter has ended sooner than I expected, I will always look back on my time here with pride and affection.”
The Portuguese succeeded Sean Dyche and was Forest’s fourth permanent boss of the season following the departures of Nuno Espirito Santo and Ange Postecoglou.
Nuno had led Forest to Europa League qualification the previous season but he departed in September, less than three months after signing a new deal. Postecoglou was appointed his replacement but was dismissed just 39 days later. Dyche took charge of the team in October before his dismissal in February.
Forest were three points above the relegation zone when Pereira was appointed and he subsequently steered his side to Premier League safety with two games of the campaign remaining.
His appointment marked his second managerial spell in the Premier League after guiding Wolverhampton Wanderers to safety during the 2024-25 campaign.
Cristiano Ronaldo has publicly countered suggestions from his sister, Katia Aveiro, that he intends to retire from international football following the World Cup.
The Portuguese legend recently led his team to the round of 16 following a 2-1 victory over Croatia.
Ronaldo continued to be a pivotal player for his country, having scored the equalising goal from the penalty spot after going one goal down in the second half.
Following his goal, he became the oldest player to score in the knockout stage of the FIFA World Cup.
Reports from Portuguese media had quoted Aveiro stating that the current tournament would be Ronaldo’s final appearance for the national team.
Before the recent match against Croatia, Aveiro was quoted as saying, “From the information I have, from a reliable source, I believe that this is the last dance, so let’s enjoy it. I strongly believe this is the farewell.”
However, the football icon has made it clear that his focus remains solely on the present, not on his future.
“My future isn’t important right now,” Ronaldo stated. “I’ll have time; after winning or losing, I’ll talk to my family and then make the best decision.”
The legendary forward, who recently secured a trophy in Saudi Arabia, holds the record for both appearances and goals for his national team, with 146 goals in 232 caps.
The UEFA Appeals Body has announced that Czech club Karvina is banned from participating in next season’s Europa League. UEFA made the decision based on competition regulations, ruling that Karvina “directly or indirectly participated in activities aimed at manipulating or influencing the results of domestic matches,” as stated in the official resolution.
As a result of this decision, Karvina’s spot as domestic cup winner will be taken by Viktoria Plzeň, with Viktoria Plzeň’s second qualifying round spot going to Hradec Králové. Jablonec will fill the vacant Conference League spot originally held by Hradec Králové.
In the Europa League, Hradec Králové will face Tromsø. In the Conference League, Jablonec will face Varaždin.
Viktoria Plzeň will learn their opponent in the Europa League playoff draw on Monday, August 3.
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