Page 10 - ARUBA TODAY

A10 WORLD NEWS
Wednesday 10 May 2017

Liberal claims victory in South Korea presidential election

ed South Korean President sharp departure from re- Over the last six months,
Moon Jae-in on Wednes- cent policy under Moon, millions gathered in protest
day will be thrown into the who favors closer ties with after corruption allega-
job of navigating a nation North Korea, saying hard- tions surfaced against Park,
deeply split over its future line conservative govern- who was then impeached
and faced with growing ments did nothing to pre- by parliament, formally re-
threats from North Korea vent the North’s develop- moved from office by a
and an uneasy alliance ment of nuclear-armed court and arrested and in-
with the United States. missiles and only reduced dicted by prosecutors.
Moon, whose victory South Korea’s voice in inter- Moon will be officially sworn
capped one of the most national efforts to counter in as South Korea’s new
turbulent political stretches North Korea. president after the elec-
in the nation’s recent histo- This softer approach might tion commission finishes the
ry and set up its first liberal put him at odds with South vote count and declares
rule in a decade, will begin Korea’s biggest ally, the the winner Wednesday
South Korea’s presidential candidate Moon Jae-in of the Dem- his presidential duties after United States. The Trump morning. This forgoes the
ocratic Party gives a thumbs up to supporters in Seoul, South the National Election Com- administration has swung usual two-month transi-
Korea, Tuesday, May 9, 2017. Hours after celebrating his elec- mission officially declares between threats and praise tion because Tuesday’s
tion win with thousands of supporters in wet Seoul streets, newly him as winner in a meeting for North Korea’s leader. vote was a by-election to
elected South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday will
be thrown into the job of navigating a nation deeply split over scheduled on Wednesday Moon, the child of refugees choose a successor to Park,
its future. morning. The election body who fled North Korea dur- whose term was to end in
(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) had finished voting as of 6 ing the Korean War, will February 2018.
a.m., with Moon gathering lead a nation shaken by a Moon will still serve out
By HYUNG-JIN KIM — Hours after celebrating 41 percent of the votes, scandal that felled his con- the typical single five-year
FOSTER KLUG his election win with thou- comfortably edging con- servative predecessor, Park term.
Associated Press sands of supporters in wet servative Hong Joon-pyo Geun-hye, who sits in a jail Moon was chief of staff for
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) Seoul streets, newly elect- and centrist Ahn Cheol- cell awaiting a corruption the last liberal president,
soo, who gathered 24 per- trial later this month. the late Roh Moo-hyun,
cent and 21 percent of the Moon smiled and waved who sought closer ties with
votes, respectively. his hands above his head North Korea by setting up
Moon’s first schedule as as supporters chanted his large-scale aid shipments
president was expected name at Gwanghwamun to the North and by work-
to be a morning visit to the square in central Seoul, ing on now-stalled joint
National Cemetery in the where millions of Koreans economic projects.
central city of Daejeon, had gathered for months Hong, the conserva-
where the country’s inde- starting late last year in tive, is an outspoken for-
pendence fighters and peaceful protests that mer provincial governor
war heroes are buried. He eventually toppled Park. who pitched himself as a
will then return to capital “It’s a great victory by a “strongman,” described
Seoul for an inauguration great people,” Moon told the election as a war be-
ceremony at the National the crowd. “I’ll gather all of tween ideologies and
Assembly. my energy to build a new questioned Moon’s patrio-
South Korea might see a nation.” tism. q

After new detentions:

US again warns against travel to North Korea

WASHINGTON (AP) — The the lack of diplomatic re- threatens to treat Ameri-
State Department is strong- lations, Americans are still can detainees in accor-
ly warning U.S. citizens free to travel there. dance with the nation’s
against traveling to North The travel warning issued “wartime law.”
Korea after the reported Tuesday updates long- Four U.S. citizens are cur-
recent detention of two standing advice that rently thought to be in cus-
Korean-Americans who Americans “are at serious tody in North Korea. The
had taught at a university risk of arrest and long-term two latest detainees had
there. detention under North both taught at the Pyong-
Despite long-standing ani- Korea’s system of law en- yang University of Science
mosity between Washing- forcement.” and Technology.q
ton and Pyongyang, and It says that North Korea