SEOUL, May 28 (UPI) -- Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung, 60, is the frontrunner in South Korea's June 3 snap presidential election, leading his main opponent Kim Moon-soo in most polls.
The race marks the third bid at the presidency for Lee, who lost to impeached former president Yoon Suk Yeol by the smallest margin in South Korean history in 2022.
Lee was born into poverty in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province as the fifth child out of seven, and his hardscrabble upbringing is a compelling part of his political narrative.
He worked in factories after graduating from elementary school when his family moved to Seongnam, a satellite city of Seoul. Lee suffered multiple workplace injuries, including a mishap with an industrial press that left him with a permanent disability in his arm.
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