SEOUL,Sept 14,2021: A South Korean politician who once said he aspired to be a “successful Bernie Sanders” is leading the field to replace Moon Jae-in as president after rising to prominence with an aggressive response to a pandemic and a populist economic agenda. .
Lee Jae-myung, the governor of Gyeonggi province, has led many recent national polls and dominated the early rounds of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party primaries, including the last vote of the weekend.
As governor, Lee advocated for universal basic income and instituted cash payments to all 24-year-olds for one year. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, all residents of the province also received regular payments.
