South Korea in May 2026: the most important developments in politics
In May 2026, South Korea's most reported political story was a lawsuit: Dua Lipa sued Samsung for $15 million, alleging it used her image to sell televisions. Courts featured in other cases too. An appeals court commuted the sentence of former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo for aiding an insurrection from 24 years to 15, in a case tied to the December 2024 martial law declaration by then-President Yoon Suk Yeol. On May 28 Yoon was acquitted of perjury over his martial law testimony. A court partially accepted Samsung Electronics' request for an injunction against a union strike, limiting the walkout's scope.
North Korea drew the second-largest share of attention. Its revised constitution defines its territory and drops references to reunification; Seoul's spy agency assessed that it shows less hostility toward the South, while South Korea's Unification White Paper shifted toward 'peaceful coexistence'. North Korea said it is no longer bound by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and rejected the Quad's call for complete denuclearization, saying it 'will never happen'. South Korean media reported that Xi Jinping may visit North Korea in late May or early June, his first visit in seven years.
With Japan, Lee and Japan's Takaichi were to meet, the two countries held their first vice-ministerial security meeting, and discussions on a military logistics support deal were reported at month end, after South Korea's defence ministry said on May 8 it was not considering one. With the United States, Seoul declined to join the Hormuz initiative that Trump had called for, and Foreign Minister Cho pledged to strengthen the alliance; the two sides prepared working groups on summit agreements and talks on a nuclear submarine project. Lee said Israel was 'way out of line' in detaining South Korean flotilla activists, whom Israel later released. Seoul said Iran was behind a ship attack in Hormuz and planned to summon its ambassador.
At home, campaigns opened for the June 3 Seoul mayoral election, with a KBS poll putting the Democratic Party's Chong at 42 percent and the People Power Party's Oh at 36 percent. A proposed constitutional amendment failed after the opposition boycotted the vote.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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