Stumbles on Ukraine; Final Debate Looms: South Korea Election

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea's presidential race entered its final week with the two leading candidates facing criticism for comments they made over the Ukraine crisis, as they ready for their final debate Wednesday night.

It is also the final day to publish new polls ahead of the March 9 vote, which appears to be a neck-and-neck race between progressive Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party and Yoon Suk-yeol, the flag-bearer for the main conservative People Power Party.

The Ukraine crisis has thrown an unexpected twist into the vote that has largely focused on anxiety over the domestic economy, with many South Koreans worried about soaring housing prices.

Lee has drawn criticism for comments in a debate last week for suggesting Ukraine bore some responsibility for the Russian invasion by cozying up to NATO. Yoon had to deal with domestic and international scorn for posting a photo of an angry face drawn on a tangerine on his social media, with the message “We stand with Ukraine.” The tweet, which some saw as bizarre, was later deleted.

Lee, Yoon and two minor candidates -- Ahn Cheol-soo of conservative People's Party and Sim Sang-jung of progressive Justice Party -- are expected to lay out their views on social issues, including South Korea's low birth rate and gender inequality gap, on the nationally televised debate that starts at 8 p.m. Wednesday.

A minor progressive candidate and former finance minister, Kim Dong-yeon, halted his campaign and threw his support to Lee.

Countdown:

One week to go before the March 9 vote. The winner of a single-round of nationwide voting becomes the next president and will serve a single, five-year term. The new president is sworn in on May 10 and will replace current office-holder Moon Jae-in, who is from the left-leaning Democratic Party. Early voting runs for two days on March 4-5.

Candidates:

Yoon Suk-yeol, 61, of the conservative People Power Party and a former prosecutor general
Lee Jae-myung, 57, of Moon's Democratic Party and a former governor of Gyeonggi, the country's most populous province
Ahn Cheol-soo, a minor candidate from the conservative People's Party, who ran unsuccessfully for president in 2017
Sim Sang-jung, a minor candidate with the Justice Party who also ran unsuccessfully for president in 2017

Yoon and Lee are the clear front-runners for the race that looks to be the most wide-open for president since the advent of full democracy about 35 years ago.

Key stories and developments:

Here Are the Contenders to Be South Korea's Next President
South Korean Exports Remain Resilient as Geopolitical Risks Mount
North Korea Resumes Missile Tests as Ukraine Tensions Mount
South Korea Candidate Willing to Meet Japan PM, Kyodo Says
South Korea Presidential Candidate Scraps Plan to Unite With Rival

Media roundup:

S. Korea's Daily Covid Cases Top 200,000 For 1st Time at 219,241
Moon: S. Korea Has Superb Missile Capability Amid N.Korea Threat
North Korea Resumes Missile Tests as Ukraine Tensions Mount (2)
South Korea Joins Financial Sanctions Against Russian Banks
S. Korea to Ban Exports of Strategic Items to Russia (1)

Polls:

Poll have offered varying assessments of who is leading the race. A major survey published Sunday by Hankook Research showed Lee and Yoon in a dead heat with about 40% each of the vote. In Gallup Korea, which published its weekly tracking poll Friday, Lee had jumped ahead of Yoon by 1 percentage point.

One factor that may benefit Yoon is that about 54% of voters want a change of power from the progressives, according a survey by Korea Information Research released last Wednesday. The poll also said only 37.4% wanted Moon's Democratic Party to stay in the presidential Blue House.